Nightshade and Roses
by LuckyBullet
Summary: It was just an innocent compliment... so why can't Blake look past it? Join Blake and the rest of Team RWBY just after the events of Black and White as Weiss comes to terms with her feelings about Blake's past, Blake comes to terms with her feelings about Ruby and Team RWBY investigate a disturbing occurence that will push their friendships and bonds to their breaking point...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Went back, proof-read everything once again and removed most of the A/N because no one wants to read them... There will be warnings in chapter titles if I think the chapters may not appeal to everyone (a la Chapter 8 and 9). Anyways: Enjoy!

**Chapter 1 – "Kind of Cute"**

A light blush washed over the usually calm and collected girl's face as a gentle warmth in her heart overcame the harsh bite of the cold night air. She awkwardly lowered her face, hiding the red tone visible on it. It was a simple, innocent compliment from her teammate and yet the faunus found herself embarrassed, and all of a sudden a little shy as her teammate, Sun and Penny looked quizzically at her. "Thanks Ruby." She managed to choke out in a small, nervous tone.

"No problem." Ruby replied in a cheery tone, bouncing up and down as excitement and relief replaced the fretting and worrying that she had been feeling all weekend that her raven haired friend had been missing without a trace. _I'll have to thank Sun at some point..._

Battling back her blush and regaining her composure Blake peered back up, Sun and Ruby seemed none the wiser of her previously flushed complexion but Penny had a knowing look etched on her face as she smiled at Blake. She shrugged it off and looked past the eccentric redhead at the approaching duo behind her. Ruby followed Blake's gaze, taking one glance at Weiss's still slightly flippant expression before turning back to face her teammate and friend "You finish up with the police; I'll try and explain everything to Weiss."

"Thanks Ruby." Blake replied, only her second pair of words spoken in the last 5 minutes. The police had recently finished up with some stranger a few feet away, apparently he witnessed the White Fang jumping out of the Bullheads during the battle. She'd actually already given her statement as had Ruby and Sun, still after all this time she had no idea what she was going to say to the heiress and appreciated any extra time she had to think up a logical way of explaining herself to the white-haired girl. She had actually bonded with Weiss the most over the last few months which came as a pleasant surprise to the faunus girl, and she wanted nothing more than to retain that friendship.

Ruby had already made her way over to Weiss and Yang and was now speaking at a nearly incoherent rate. The only words she understood were the last 'She has kitty ears and they're actually kind of cute…" Another light blush decorated her features before she recomposed herself once more in time for Weiss to push past Ruby. _So much for Ruby buying me some time _Blake nervously joked inwardly as Weiss stopped moving in front of her.

_Here goes nothing… _The black-haired girl rose off of the crate she had been sat on and turned to face the heiress, her amber eyes scanning the face of her teammate, a cold look gazing back stinging Blake internally. She bit back her worries, put on her usual calm face and went with the first thing that came into her head, not willing to let Weiss start the conversation. "Weiss, I want you know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with them-"

"Stop," That stopped her in her tracks, the young faunus taken aback by Weiss's interruption, once again biting back fear of Weiss rejecting her she just stood there, waiting, listening.

"Do you have any idea how long we've been searching for you?" Blake stood there in slight confusion at the girl's question. _Was she expecting an- _"Twelve hours." _Guess not… _"That means I've had twelve hours to think about this, and in that twelve hours." The Schnee heiress took a step forward. "I have decided…" _This is it…_ Blake thought to herself, a knot forming in her stomach as she mentally prepared herself for whatever came next. The air was thick as a short silence washed over the situation, a look of worry on Yang and Ruby's faces as they exchanged apprehensive glances.

Sun stood to the side, hoping that Weiss wouldn't cast Blake aside, he knew her story better than anyone at that moment… even Ruby. "I don't care." Weiss announced with a shake of her head, finally breaking the seconds of silence that had begun to feel like minutes, relief visibly washing over Sun and the two sisters as the knot in Blake's stomach dissipated, her fretting now replaced with confusion.

"You don't care?" it was all the relieved faunus could say in response. _How could she NOT care?_

"You said you're not one of them any more right?"

"No, I-I haven't been since I was younger." Blake stuttered, her voice quickening as she once more tried to explain.

Weiss raised her hand silencing her. "Ah-bah-bah-bah-bah! I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up... you'll come to your teammates. And not some..." Blake's eyes narrowed slightly as Weiss peered over Blake shoulder at the petty criminal sat on a crate behind her, her head turning to following the gaze of her teammate. "Someone else…"

Blake let a single tear roll down her cheek as she let Weiss's forgiveness and acceptance seep in, quickly wiping the droplet away. "Of course." again it was all Blake could say in response to her teammate's unanticipated response.

Another short silence fell upon the group, this time without the tension and suspense that dominated the last. Ruby glanced at Blake, and then at Weiss before letting her happiness overcome her, pumping her fists in the air as she bounced giddily. "YEAH! Team RWBY is back together!"

Sun, Ruby and Yang all took a few steps forward, coming closer to the reunited duo. Unexpectedly Weiss turned to face Sun, giving him a small shock as she pointed at him, a slight tone of venom in her voice "I'm still not quite sure how I feel about you!" eliciting a nervous laugh from the blonde haired monkey faunus.

"Hey…" began Ruby, slowly taking in her surroundings in search of the girl who had yet to provide a statement. "Where's Penny?" she finally asked, certain that the mysterious and unique girl whom had saved her's, Blake's and Sun's lives had disappeared.

That brought everyone back to reality, Ruby's teammates now scanning the environment to see that the real hero of the night had vanished. Yang shrugged. "The same place we're going… home…"

That was three days ago and yet it was still playing on Blake's mind, she sat there in Grimm studies, Port's usually self-absorbed lectures once more failing to hold her attention as her mind drifted. _How could Weiss NOT care? Why did Penny slip away before giving her statement? Why do I still feel flustered whenever Ruby mentions my cat ears?_ _Who keeps nudging me? _she peered around, tearing her eyes away from the boring lecture to see Yang vying with Blake's own thoughts for the black beauty's attention. "Uh, Blake? Are you okay?"

Blake shook her head, ridding her mind of her recurring thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine." Her expressionless face soon moulding into one of intrigue as Yang looked at her apprehensive, a single eye brow raised pointedly.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course why'd you…" Blake stopped herself in her tracks as she heard someone next to her clear his throat. Peering round she met the gaze of Professor Port, the professor slightly hunched over.

"Ms. Belladonna, since you are 'fine' I'm sure you will have no problem participating in today's demonstration… " Blake was a little unnerved at that, her Grimm Studies teacher was never one to do anything the sane way; they learned that in their first ever class when Weiss found herself up against the Boarbatusk. The demonstrations had only gotten more dangerous since then, though she had to admit it was fun watching the ""Aaeeyup!" Guy" as he had since been dubbed battle against three ursi…

Blake soon realised that no one had spoken in the last minute and rubbed the back of her neck. "Umm… yes?" she asked apprehensively, a little worried about what her train of thought had gotten her into this time.

"Good, then we will make our way to the training facility. Get ready students for today is a rare opportunity to see the lethality of a beowolf pack when they have a leader…" Blake couldn't fight back a gulp, the girl growing even more nervous at her professor's phrasing of the announcement.

A few minutes later and Blake found herself on her own inside the combat arena that comprised over three quarters of the training grounds, a few training students let out sounds of frustration as the teacher took over the facility. She was looking across the way at a gate on the fair side of the arena, unable to see anything save for a few pairs of red eyes. "Ms. Belladonna, are you ready?"

Blake gripped Gambol Shroud a little too tightly, heart pounding in her chest as she gazed at the cold, merciless eyes staring back at her, a few snarls escaped the gate as the beowolves grew restless. _Of course I am. _"Yes sir."

Without another spoken word the gates raised and several beowolves stepped into the open arena as the students and the rest of Blake's team watched on from the balcony area that situated the gym, showers, changing rooms, sauna and a small social area for resting. Behind the baker's dozen of beowolves stepped out a much larger beowolf, a slightly different pattern on its skull mask.

Blake took a fighting stance, her eyes narrowing to train on the pack before her. _Just focus on the task at hand Blake. Don't let them surround you, remember this is just a demonstration, you're not in any real danger so don't panic if anything goes wrong… _Blake closed her eyes and waited for the howl, the ear-splitting sound piercing the air as she opened her eyes to the sight of six beowolves charging at her at once, four splitting off an heading into two different directions.

She waited patiently for the lunge, the first beast slamming into her after image as she jumped back a step only to find two more closing in on both of her flanks, a second shadow clone allowing her to leap to safety once again. _So they get more organised… still that Alpha may be a pain to take down…_

Blake mentally prepared her assault as she ducked and weaved between the five beowolves that had now ganged up on her, the first one she dodged finally getting back to its feet as she shadow jumped once more and delivered a quick slash to the creature of Grimm at the back of pack before side-stepping the sixth lesser beowolf, her cleaver slicing at the side of the beast. Unsheathing her katana, the blade setting back into a kunai, she pulled her hand back and pulled the trigger, the ribbon around her arm coming undone and the sickle like weapon flying towards the alpha male.

She pulled on the ribbon once more as the beowolf alpha dodged it with ease. _Bigger and more agile… likely stronger too… _The weapon returned her way slicing into the beowolf that lunged towards her as she began to use her semblance repeatedly, her body seemingly disappearing and reappearing with each cast all the while her kusarigama pirouetting and flying elegantly in the air, repeatedly slicing into the beasts that lusted after her blood.

Amidst her focussed attacks she failed to see the alpha dashing towards her. "Blake look out!" shouted Ruby, drawing Blake out of her self-induced trance but it was too late, the formidable beast slammed into her knocking Blake out of midair and causing her to slam into the ground, grinding across the smooth surface. Several beowolves closed in on her as she scrambled back to her feet a minor gash on her arm from where her aura resisted the alpha's slash.

Weiss, Yang and Ruby reached for their weapons only to see the professor shake his head. They all swallowed down the lumps in their throats as they watched Blake narrowly avoid the four remaining lesser beowolves, now entirely reliant on evasion as Gambol Shroud had slipped out of her grasp after being taken down. She back stepped before rolling to side and used an afterimage to jump back away from three separate beowolf attacks before a fourth slammed into her back, Blake letting out a cry of pain as she stumbled forward towards the alpha, the intimidating creature slashing at her jugular, just missing and instead scraping across her back as she used her shadow clones to once more jump to the side.

Her teammates once more reached for their weapons, now gripping the hilts as Port turned to them. "No! Let us wait a little longer…" Weiss shot Port a look of disbelief, Yang readied her weapon despite Port's orders as Ruby just looked on worriedly at the young girl being set upon by the beowolf pack. _They really are ruthless when paired with an alpha…_

Recovering from her stumble Blake began to run across the arena, arcing back round to her weapon of choice, two beowolves chasing after her as two more charged inform the side and the alpha dashed over towards Gambol Shroud. Blake slowed her pace, the pain in her back no doubt attributing to it, even if it was intentional. The two beowolves behind her began to catch up and she counted the seconds as the four remaining lessers began to close in on her. At the last moment she dodged in the only direction she could: forward. Her semblance allowing her to perform two leaps causing the four beowolves to crash into one another.

The alpha swiped at her once more but she ducked under it, rolling towards her weapon. The alpha quickly recovered and charged into her back, the girl falling to the floor, having to roll to the side to avoid the follow up swipe. She backed up across the arena floor from the frenzied alpha's ruthless attacks, her eyes glancing over to the recovering four as she finally reached her weapon, gripping the ribbon and pulling as the sickle flew towards the alpha. She caught it off guard and sliced into its collarbone, she pulled again, this time her body flying into the air, narrowly avoiding the four other beowolves as she landed on the alpha's back in a blur of black.

The alpha roared as she yanked out her blade and glanced over to her discarded cleaver. Quickly converting the kusarigama back to a katana she sliced at the now struggling alpha's jugular, the creature's throat ripping open as she pushed off the wolf-like Grimm's back and, converting her momentum into inertia with a roll, retrieved her second blade. The other four beowolves had inadvertently piled on top of the alpha, seemingly reverting back to their usual reckless, feral selves with the alpha being too panicked to provide instructions… or whatever the damn thing did.

Taking her chance Blake charged at the pack, slicing through the lesser beowolves with ease in a flurry of parries and slices before ending with a quick shadow jump to a safe distance as she glanced back. _How the… _her eyes narrowed on the alpha who was now standing, blood gushing out from its throat. She gripped her blade and charged forward, each dodged punctuated with a cut and small growl of frustration and pain from the alpha. After about a minute of baiting, evading and slashing the beowolf alpha fell to the ground, an exhausted Blake finally coming to a stop next to its corpse. _More durable too…_

She looked up to see Ruby, Yang and Weiss jump the balcony and land with varying degrees of style before rushing over to her. Blake let out a smile whilst all three insisted on checking over her body. Letting them get on with what they considered medical checks she peered up at the balcony, the professor giving her a nod of respect as the class cheered her. She grimaced as the professor began to lecture the class on the pack mentality and on how alphas could communicate with their lesser kind non-verbally.

_Great, so I nearly got killed for a lecture that no one is even listening to… I swear these demonstrations are for entertainment purposes only… Ah! What the- _Blake's face contorted as she jerked away from her teammates Ruby winced at seeing Blake act so defensively, a shooting pain going through Blake's back. "Sorry." Ruby said sheepishly, Blake turned back to her expressionless self, a small twang of guilt filling her as she looked at Ruby's apologetic and sorry face. "It's okay Ruby… just be more careful next time." no one had ever managed to stay angry at Ruby; she was far too adorable for that… no matter what she did…

"I'm so glad you're okay!" the cheer entering Ruby's voice as Weiss gave her a small smile and Yang, as always forgetting boundaries that Blake set months ago, rushed in to hug her. The hug was painless, Yang long growing accustomed to avoiding any wounds, presumably back when she played mother to Ruby after their mother had passed.

"I don't know what we'd do without you Blake…"

Blake glanced over to Ruby as she extricated herself from Yang's grasp. "I'm guessing you would not be as literate." a small laugh escaping her lips as Weiss's face dropped.

"HEY! I read plenty, thank you very much!" Weiss shouted, taking a step forward, her hands placed on her hips as she defended herself against her faunus teammate.

_It's almost too easy to pull Weiss's strings… Still entertaining though… _She turned to Ruby, a smile on her face. "Don't worry Ruby, it'll take a lot more than a few beowolves to keep me down, I have too much to lose." And for the first time since her last training session with Adam she meant it, she finally belonged to something again, and she was not prepared, not willing to give it up now… And yet still she found her mind wandering back to those questions, one more prominent than the others…


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Days Off**

Blake tossed and turned once more; no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't get comfortable, the still healing wounds on her back and on arm probably had something to do with that but she couldn't help but think it was also because she didn't want to. What Blake wanted was to get up, head to class and study; however, following her battle with the beowolf pack, Ozpin had given her a few days off to recover.

She initially insisted she was fine but then Yang and Ruby started to beg, and the young woman couldn't even resist Yang's pathetic face, let alone Ruby's. So here she found herself lying in bed, every angle she put herself in resulting in a tinge of pain with nothing to occupy her time except for her thoughts of her teammates, whom would be back any moment to wait on her hand and foot… The young woman sighed at that, pushing her covers to the side as she stood, clutching at her ribs close to her aching, bandaged back. _Maybe I could just make a sandwich and some tea; they wouldn't have a problem with that would th-_

"Blake you should be resting…" came a slightly agitated, yet caring voice from Yang to accompany the dorm room door's squeak as it creaked open, Blake's blonde and usually bubbly partner rushing to her side and trying to coax her back into lying down.

"Yaaang!" Blake argued, sounding a little like a spoiled child. "I'm fine… All lying down is doing is boring me…"

Yang sighed and tucked Blake back in since her partner made no attempt to do it herself. "You will be fine Blake, we're going to make sure of that…" Blake let out a sigh of defeat that Yang either didn't notice or outright ignored. "Now stay here, I'll get you that food." Yang said before bouncing over to the small kitchen area and speedily preparing a sandwich for Blake. That brought a smile to the black haired girl's lips; Yang always did know exactly what her teammates needed.

The smile faded though as she realised that she had nothing to occupy herself and her mind wandered once more as she watched Yang go to work.

**Last month…**

Blake quietly opened the door, trying her best to avoid that squeak it had worked up recently, slipping into the room she looked around, Weiss was fast asleep and she couldn't see nor hear any movement from the top bunks save for a cute little snore coming from above Weiss. _I wonder if Ruby did that extra reading Oobleck set her… I should probably check._

Sneaking her way across the room, narrowly avoiding the two suitcases that neither Weiss nor Yang had put back under the bed she made it to the ladder that led to Ruby's bunk. Reaching the top she took in the scene before her, Ruby was sprawled out in her usual pose that occurred whenever she fell asleep whilst studying. She let out a sigh before dropping back down the ladder and heading over to the kitchen, flicking on a small lamp that barely brightened the room, it needed a new bulb, which in this case was a good thing…

Quickly getting to work Blake grabbed a few cookies from the cupboard, poured a glass of milk and quickly threw together a strawberry jam sandwich before making some tea for herself. Once she was finished she moved back across the dorm room, again making sure not to make any noise as she slipped past the rare obstacle course. Placing the plate of food and the glass of milk on the nightstand Blake climbed the ladder a second time and gently nudged Ruby awake, striking silver eyes slowly appeared from behind eyelids heavy with sleep meeting the fiery amber of Blake's as Ruby finally pieced together the information. "B-Blake?" she asked still a little tired.

Her teammate smiled back in response. "Come on Ruby, you still have work to do." pointing out the pile of papers she was sleeping on top of before descending down the ladder and fetching the milk, sandwich and cookies. A quiet yawn was heard as she ascending back up the ladder and handed her a mid-morning snack, before dropping back down, grabbing her tea and clambering back up one last time, settling on the far end of the bed with her legs crossed just opposite Ruby.

"Thanks Blake, the professor would kill me if I didn't get this done!" Ruby said gratefully as she began chomping down on her sandwich.

Blake rolled her eyes at Ruby's overly dramatic summary of Oobleck's reaction, another smile stretching across her face. "That's why you should not draw schematics for a rocket sniper in his class… though I did overhear him telling Yang that they were impressive designs…" she quipped before taking another sip of her tea and resting the base of the cup on her leg. Ruby's face actually brightened up a little at that news causing Blake to shake her head. "You're such a dork…"

Finishing her sandwich Ruby took a sip of her milk. "A very loveable dork!" she responded pointedly which just resulted in Blake shrugging in defeat. "You know, you don't have to stay awake with me Blake?"

"No I don't Ruby, but if I go to bed I know that you will doze off again. The last thing we need is Yang setting fire to another chair because she got angry at a teacher for scalding you." Blake joked, remembering back to what happened just a few weeks back, Ruby laughed at that, mostly because Yang was sitting on the chair at the time and the fire caused it to collapse, her sister landing on her backside and her hair getting a little singed. "If you want me to get some sleep then hurry up and finish those cookies and get to work." a short pause followed as Blake reached over for a cookie. "On second thoughts, let me help you with that."

"Hey!" Ruby shouted, forgetting that right now it was closer to dawn than dusk, quickly slapping her hand to her mouth and contorting her face into an apologetic expression.

Blake bit the bottom of her lip. "Wait for it…"

On cue Weiss groaned. "Be quiet up there! And be careful! The last thing I need is to be crushed by the weight of you two and that goddamn bed!"

"You know Weiss; if it's that big of a deal, why don't you just buy us actual bunk beds?"

All Blake got in response was a scoff and some mumbling before the heiress rolled over and attempted to get back to sleep. It was then that Ruby looked Blake up and down, not purposely looking at her admittedly beautiful figure, but finally realising that Blake was still dressed in her combat gear. "Blake?"

"Yes Ruby?"

Ruby began fidgeting a little as she worked up the courage to ask, Blake always was the private type after all. "Umm… Why are you only just coming home?"

Blake's face dropped a little as she glanced down at her appearance, there wasn't anything inherently wrong with what she was doing, just a bit of combat practise in the training grounds, but she'd hate to make anyone on her team jump to unnecessary conclusions. "Tell you what Ruby, you finish that work and then I'll have a story to tell you, can't promise that it will be an interesting one though."

**Present Day**

"Blake, are you sure you're alright?" Blake finally snapped out of her thoughts, shaking her head as she focussed back on Yang.

"Yeah I was just… day dreaming."

Yang's expression turned from one of worry, to one of confusion before she quickly gave up on whatever she was thinking of asking, instead she handed Blake her snack and parked herself on Weiss's bed. "Well, Ruby won't be back for another hour, something about how Weiss couldn't pick up your assignments because she'd be training overnight so Ruby had to do it at the last minute."

Yang watched, wincing a little as her partner's face dropped, Weiss's absence clearly hurting her friend. "That's… a lot of sandwiches." Blake noted, trying to avoid the obvious discussion before Yang pinched one.

"That's because they're not all for you." Taking a bite before itching the back of her head with her free hand. _Screw it. _the busty girl thought before glancing over to Blake. "What were you thinking about?"

_You're sister? No don't say that… _"Nothing important, just a few memories of our brief time here at Beacon." _At least it's not a total lie..._

Yang looked off in the direction of nothing in particular, pondering fondly on a few memories of her own. "Do you remember when Pyrrha asked us to help her train Jaune?"

Blake's expression raised a bit, still not quite the smile she had been wearing whilst she was absorbed in her own thoughts a short while ago, but it was still an improvement. "Of course, that was only like, what a week and a half ago?"

"Ruby causing Jaune to literally run for the hills when he charged at her and she turned herself into a human Buzzsaw… Us two having to work together to fight Pyrrha and Jaune; she's good, she basically beat us both single-handedly."

Blake laughed at that. "Hey don't underestimate the value of a meat shield." She joked before regretting it, her facing dropping again as she realised whom they were joking about; Blake liked Jaune, respected him, he was nice to humans AND faunus, he was passionate about becoming a hunter, he always put his team before himself, he was a little socially awkward, and definitely left the wrong first impression and he was so wrapped up in proving to himself and everyone around him that he could do this… That's when Blake's mind trailed off as she suddenly realised something; Jaune was like Ruby in every way, with one short distinction: _Blake could stop thinking about Jaune._

Realising that Yang had lost Blake to her thoughts once more she continued onwards, snapping her back to reality. "And then Jaune faced off against Weiss…"

The rare grin on Blake's face widened some more which caused a little joy to swell inside Yang; this was a side of Blake rarely seen, one where she was relaxed and actually enjoyed being with others rather than hiding herself in a book. It was nice. "Jaune's face dropping when Weiss let him disarm her so she could trap him in that adhesion glyph and then launch him off the roof WAS priceless!" Blake and Yang laughed together, Blake's face dropping as the laughing petered out.

"She hasn't really spoken to me since that day Yang. She hasn't even spent more than twenty minutes with me since she found out about… you know. She comes in, checks my cuts and bruises, hands me my assignments and then blanks me."

Yang quickly shot forward, wrapping her arms around Blake comfortingly. "I'm sure everything will turn out okay Blake." The faunus was busy wriggling free from the bear hug Yang had subjected her to; still not close enough to Yang to get THAT physical. Yang released her after seeing her struggles and settled for placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It'll be fine Blake; she just needs to process everything that's happened in the last week. She just needs a little more time."

Blake nodded, a stray tear falling down her cheek, being wiped away before Yang could notice. _Yeah… time… she'll accept me in time… _Yang gave her another squeezing hug, her arms avoiding the bandage on her partner's right arm and left shoulder. "Now then, that's enough of that Blake for at least another week. You're going to cheer up, heal up and then hopefully continue to be like the Blake I've seen in the last half an hour, because she's awesome." Yang paused for a minute in her bubbly pep-talk as her scroll beeped; pulling it out her eyes scanned over the message she had received. "Besides, we have a mission, and if you're not in top form it isn't going to be anywhere near as enjoyable." She gave her a wink before heading towards the door. "Speaking of which, I gotta go see Ozpin, don't worry Ruby should be back soon."

Blake cursed inwardly as she heard the door close _and now I have no distractions again _the confused woman thought as she listened _to_ Yang's loud thuds, the feisty and caring blonde bounding down the stairs… _Wait they're going UP the sta- Oh n- _Her thoughts were interrupted as the hyperactive blonde fired herself off of the roof of their dorm, that all-too-familiar laugh fading into the distance leaving Blake once again in silence.

_Well, at least I have the room to myself for a while. Well, myself and my Ruby-related thoughts. Let's see… rationalise this Blake. Ruby is a friend; she is the younger sister of your partner, emphasis on the younger. The compliment was therefore likely just an off-hand, innocent remark meant to calm you down and cheer you up. Yeah, that's all Ruby meant by it… Now why did you blush at it? _

Blake found herself racking her brain like this for the next several minutes as she just lay there in her bed, for the first time not trying to ignore the thoughts racing through her mind as she searched for a rational explanation for her body's response to the simple words _"They're kind of cute..." _Blake let out a sigh, they were becoming far too common and brought her fingers to her temple, rubbing the sides of them in a vain attempt to stimulate thought.

_Come on, there's got to be a simple, everyday reason… Wait, that's it…_

The cat faunus jumped a little on the spot, as she started speaking out loud. "No one has ever expressed any kind of attraction to my faunus traits, they've always been shunned by people. THAT'S why I blushed when Ruby said they were cute, I'm just not used to it and it embarrassed me…"

"You're a faunus?"

Blake froze as the door swung open and Nora entered dramatically with a genuine, if not slightly forced in magnitude, look of shock on her face.

_Oh yeah… THEY don't know yet… _"What are you doing here Nora?" Blake asked before scalding herself mentally as the greeting came out more venomously than she had intended.

"Oh you know how it is, Ruby's been held up so she asked me to keep you company for a little longer, but back to my original question:" She cleared her throat, somehow making even that sound and look larger than life before announcing in what was definitely feigned shock now. "YOU'RE A FAUNUS!?"

Blake glared at her, a single finger brought to her lips and hushing sounds escaping her lips as she attempted to calm down the most energetic girl she'd ever met. _I should remember to thank Ruby for sending me the Mad Queen on Caffeine…_ Once Nora quietened down Blake decided she might as well explain as the girl before her continued hopping from one foot to the next excitedly. "Yes, I'm a faunus, a cat faunus to be exact but only Ruby, Weiss and Yang, and now you, know about it. Could you try and keep this under wraps for the time being? I'm still not very comfortable with it." _Hopefully the whole faunus thing meant she didn't notice the Ruby thing… _

"Sure, I love secrets; secrets are what you trust your best friends with! I can totally keep a secret, like when Ren was knocked out in one punch by an ursa whilst learning to use his-" Nora slowly trailed off as she looked at Blake's face an expression of disbelief on her face before an evil smirk replaced it.

"So, Ren got punched by an ursa?"

Nora suddenly got antsy, fidgeting a little as nervous "ums" and "errs" escaped her mouth. This brought Blake great pleasure allowing a brief break from everything else as the black-themed faunus considered pressing Nora, she decided against that though. "Tell you what, you forget about the whole me being a faunus, and I'll pretend you never told me that. Deal?"

Nora visibly relaxed, wiping imaginary sweat from her brow. "Phew. Oh, and deal by the way." A short silence fell over the two polar opposite personalities before Nora spoke up once more "Oh, and just a word of advice, lying to yourself because it's easier to accept feelings of friendship never works." She looked down at the ground with a frown, her bubbly voice finally faltering. "It never worked for me…"

Blake said nothing in return; instead she opted to let the silence once again consume them, a much long, tenser silence as they each considered Nora's words until Nora remembered why she came, the redheads voice once more filled with joy and excitement. "OH! And I brought Hunters and Huntresses!"

Blake's eyes widened in response "Wait, just how long is Ruby gonna be? What could she possibly be doing whilst carrying home all my assignments?"

**A Few Minutes Earlier…**

"WEISS!" Ruby called once more "WEISS!" _She better have a good explanation for doing this… _"WEISS!"

Right now Ruby was traipsing through the Emerald Forest in search of her teammate, hoping to find and talk some sense into her before the sky darkened any more. "WEISS, WHERE ARE YOU!?" It was no use, even if the snobby princess could hear she probably wouldn't answer back, there was a reason why Weiss never told Ruby to her face that she was going to train in the forest all night after all. Ruby sighed heavily, almost ready to give up searching and head back when an explosion of ice in the distance caught her attention; that could only be one person: _WEISS!_

She dashed off into the trees her eyes scanning her surroundings restlessly, searching for anything that could vaguely be her partner. "WEISS!" she shouted again and waited impatiently for Weiss's response.

"RUBY!" that was all the leader of Team RWBY needed as she pulled out Crescent Rose and continued her sprint into the treeline, the sounds of combat now serving as her direction. She arrived to a scene of Weiss narrowly avoiding a Taijitu's head slamming into the ground; Weiss dashed forward delivering several quick slashes before using her white glyph to jump back out of harm's way, the second head slamming into the circle of power as it darkened.

Weiss spun to glance at Ruby as the base of her weapon rotated. "Ruby, take out the beowolves!" she yelled before forcing the rapier into the ground and freezing the second head in place as the first recovered. The snake Grimm lunged again, the same head now being repelled by several projectiles of ice smashing into it as Weiss dashed forward, Myrtenaster glowing red as she easily sidestepped the groggy head and slashed through it, her semblance offering Myrtenaster the power it need to slay the first half of the beast.

Glancing back over towards Ruby she saw the redhead going to work, admiring her strange kind of elegance as she danced around the creatures of Grimm, each shot from her absurdly impractical weapon sending her careening into another couple of Grimm which she effortlessly sliced up into pieces quite literally causing it to rain blood for a split second. What was perhaps the most interesting technique though was her use of collapsing her weapon back into storage mode whilst moving between attacks and then extending it once the blade was within reach of her enemy, it did nothing to Crescent Roses weight but Weiss assumed it made the giant scythe easier to manoeuvre nonetheless

Brought back to the situation at hand Weiss prepared herself as the second head broke free. _Should probably have finished that off BEFORE getting distracted. Don't be so careless you dunce; this thing could have killed you. _Weiss shook her head as she readied Myrtenaster _In fact why are you getting distracted anyways? That's a Ruby or a Nora thing to do…_

Weiss dodged to side to avoid the remaining head before casting a protection glyph, the follow up attack crashing harmlessly against it. "Weiss switch!" she vaguely heard her teammate yell. Turning the white glyph black she quickly made her way over to the beowolves that were oddly working together with the King Taijitu.

Ruby meanwhile fired her way over to the Taijitu; proceeding to seemingly teleport around it as she used her speed to slice repeatedly all around the trapped Taijitu's head until Weiss inevitably dropped the glyph. And so she did. The glyph faded and the Taijitu struck, knocking Ruby back as she ejected her weapons cartridge and replaced it with a cross clip as the Taijitu came at her again. Waiting for the last moment Ruby pressed her finger on the trigger.

Weiss finished up a few more beowolves as she watched the Taijitu's head explode from out of the corner of her eye. _There's that classic Ruby fighting style… _In an instance Ruby had joined back up with her partner and another moment later the forest was quiet once more, Ruby finishing off the last beowolf with a round to the chest.

As the echoed faded to silence Weiss finally turned to Ruby. "Hello Ruby." She greeted nonchalantly as Ruby gave her a stern look of frustration that soon faded as she washed over with relief that Weiss was fine, the redhead stepping forward and embracing the ivory girl much to Weiss's chagrin.

"I'm so glad you're okay." She muttered before pushing the white-haired girl a way. _This is new… _the heiress thought to herself as Ruby began to berate her. "What are you thinking Weiss? Spending all night in a forest just to avoid Blake? You could get yourself killed in this madness!"

"I'm not avoiding Blake! I'm just practising: I'm not perfect, remember!?" Weiss shot back dredging up the first emotionally charged phrase she ever actually said to her partner. Ruby's argument faltered at that point as she struggled to find the words to make Weiss understand that what she was doing was wrong. When she couldn't find them all she was left with was reasoning.

"Don't you think she at least deserves a conversation?"

"We had a conversation Ruby, I forgave her remember?"

Ruby let out an agitated groan at Weiss's stubborn denial but let the issue drop, Weiss wasn't going to listen anyways. Not tonight. Instead she settled for the next best thing: Getting Weiss back to the dorm room, or at the very least outside of the forest. "Then come home Weiss, you have nothing to prove and staying here is too dangerous on your own at night."

"Some of us don't get days off Ruby…" Weiss hated herself for that comment, she hated Ruby for the reason that comment existed in the first place; to Ruby being a huntress came effortlessly. She was a child prodigy, how was that fair? "If I'm going to succeed I need to do this."

Ruby closed her eyes, letting out another sigh of frustration before mentally apologising to Weiss and putting on the most pathetic face she could as she looked at her partner and practically begged her: "Please Weiss, for your partner?"

It was Weiss's turn to let out a sigh, hers though being one of defeat. _No one can resist that face… _"Fine." she said through gritted teeth before pushing past the girl whose face had already shifted to one of joy. Ruby found herself stood still as she watched Weiss walk away. "Sorry Blake… I tried." She muttered to herself before following her partner's lead.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Thing in the Forest Part 1**

"Yang, cover me!" shouted Blake as she sprinted into the Grimm horde, her partner loosed what remained of her ammo into the gaggle of black creatures before quickly reloading, several falling dead before Blake finished up what remained.

"It's no use! They just keep coming!"

"I TOLD YOU THIS WASN'T GOING TO WORK!"

"Ruby, watch your back!"

_RUBY! _Weiss grimaced as she watched her partner get blindsided by a King Taijitu, the twin-headed snake smashing into the young girl's back and sending her careening to the floor. _This is bad! _Weiss rushed over to the fallen redhead, a blur of white flying past Ruby's fading vision and the familiar sound of ice erupted from Weiss's blade as her would-be killer was encased in a glacial prison.

"WEISS BEHIND YOU!" shouted Blake as Weiss darted her head around to see several ursi charging at her, reaching her before she could free Myrtenaster from the ground. Blake slashed her way through a few more beowolves as Yang cleared herself of the few Grimm that had isolated her since Blake left her side, but neither could reach Weiss before one of the ursi forced her to retreat from the still recovering Ruby. Ignoring the fleeing white-haired girl the fierce creatures turned their attentions to the downed redhead.

That set off something within Yang that Weiss had rarely seen, with a primal scream and an explosion of fire Yang ordered Blake to get Ruby and sprinted towards the large group, including the thawing Taijitu, as Weiss watched on, only half-focussed on the enemies coming at her.

As Yang dived into the air Blake appeared and disappeared in between the Grimm horde that were bearing down on Ruby leaving only an after image of herself which the ursi assaulted. Upon seeing the shadow clone fade the group of creatures exchanged confused looks before looking into the sky. A fiery woman was falling at a startling speed. "YOU MONSTERS!" she screamed as she impacted the ground, her fist slamming into the dirt as an explosion ripped from the centre of the group, the resulting shockwave sending debris and dust particles into the air.

Weiss looked on slack jawed and in disbelief as the smoke dissipated to reveal a tired but otherwise unharmed Yang stood in what appeared to be a rather large crater, the monsters seemingly killed in the attack and already fading from the world. Weiss looked on as the blonde spared a worrying glance over to team's young leader who was now on her feet thanks in part to Blake, she also spotted something of more importance: Myrtenaster a few feet from the crater, thankfully unharmed by Yang's suicidal and psychotic outburst.

She rushed over to retrieve it as Yang and Ruby exchanged a few looks, an unspoken conversation playing out between the sisters, that special bond between Ruby and Yang acting as yet another thing Ruby got that Weiss didn't... Still she put on a professional face and joined her squad. "Looks like the Grimm are retreating…"

Blake took in her surroundings for the first time since saving Ruby, her mind finally rid of any fear for her leader's life only to be replaced with a different kind of fear, one of genuine terror as a realisation dawned onto her. "Tell me something Weiss."

"What?" Weiss asked, sounding a little colder than normal which took the white-haired girl by surprise.

"When's the last time you ever saw the Grimm retreat?"

Weiss thought for a second as Yang checked over her sister now that she was close enough to do so. "I can't say I've ever…" Weiss trailed as the group heard a roar from what remained of the treeline after the battle they just had, several of the trees collapsing as a creature of Grimm bounded through the forest in their direction. Whatever it was it was nothing like a snake, bear or wolf.

The beast finally emerged all four members of Team RWBY slightly taken aback by what they saw, here before them was an abomination; something unlike anything they'd ever seen before. They were right: it was nothing like a wolf, snake or bear; this looked like a science experiment gone wrong. Fused together were what looked to be the bodies of an Ursa, a Boarbatusk and half a Taijitu, the result was not pretty; a heavily armoured, twin-tusked bear-like creature with a snake head protruding from its back.

"What in the world…" Weiss exclaimed as she took in the situation, here they were staring down one of the strangest creatures any of them had ever encountered, Ruby was hurting badly, Yang was exhausted, and they had to presume the creatures of Grimm lining the treelines were still a threat. _How did we ever get into this situation? Oh yeah, that's how…_

**A short while before…**

This was actually something Weiss appreciated, the calm that came before the storm. The area was silent save for the mechanical sound of Ruby testing her newly oiled weapon, making sure her "sweetheart" functioned correctly and Yang loading her gauntlets, which took all of two seconds before the busty blonde found something less important to occupy herself with: her hair. Still, Weiss couldn't help but feel like the moment wasn't quite up to par with previous occurrences of this situation, something was missing. She glanced around idly as they waited for Ozpin scanning the area.

At the minute they were in the courtyard of Beacon Academy, nothing but the luminosity of the moonlight sweeping away the darkness of the night as her team prepared for what could prove to be their toughest mission yet. From the cool breeze, to the glimmer the moonlight gave to her newly cleaned weapon of choice, to the friendly looks she and Ruby exchanged when the duos eyes infrequently met; almost everything was normal.

Then the heiress's eyes fell on Blake. The slender, dark-haired woman had isolated herself, opting to undergo her usual pre-mission ritual of reading alone. As she stared at the teammate she once considered her closest friend, a host of questions began racing through her mind: _How could she be doing something so mundane at a time like this? Should I go talk to her? Would she even want to be disturbed right now? _That last question was the only one she paid mind to. _Of course she wouldn't. I'll just leave her be; she probably prefers the peace and quiet…_

Weiss was drawn from her thoughts as Ozpin approached, Blake peering up from her book for the first time in the last ten minutes when the head teacher strolled past her and headed towards Ruby. As expected the group all collapsed in on Ozpin, both Blake and Weiss moving closer to the sisters whom had just finished their own preparations, if you could call Yang checking her appearance preparation that is…

"I would like to remind you girls that you do not need to do this. We can and will get somebody else if you wish." Ozpin began, an understanding tone in his voice, his right hand clutching onto a scroll as he spoke to the straightening up foursome. "We have absolutely no information to give you other than the fact that the creatures of Grimm are behaving strangely and researchers believe that they feel threatened. By what we have no idea, and yet we would rather not concern our security, teachers or other hunters with this matter in case it turns out the theorists are wrong."

The group nodded collectively, Weiss glanced at her teammates briefly: Ruby was stood closest to her with her usual energetic demeanour replaced with a more serious act that reminded Weiss of why Ruby was the leader. _When it matters there's no one better_; Yang was stood next to her, a comforting arm draping over the back of her sister, a smile on her face as she looked forward to the mission; Blake was the furthest away _by coincidence Weiss added to her observation_, the look on her face though made it seem like she had also noted that the crew was stood out of their usual formation.

"Your mission is to explore the forest and find whatever it is that is threatening the Grimm. Kill it if possible, but retreat is also an option; don't put your life on the line if the cause seems lost, confirmation of the threat's existence is all we actually need right now. Now then ladies, your ride is ready, you will be dropped off at the foot of the cliff, just inside the forest where Juniper and yourselves battled the Deathstalker and Nevermore. Good luck."

Another united nod "Yes sir."

_So much for the peace and quiet _Weiss deadpanned in her mind and shrugged. The Bullhead wasn't exactly the subtlest of vehicles, but they were cheap enough that Beacon could easily afford to lose one. Still the god-awful hum of the engine and the spinning of the blades just above the passengers prevented any kind of concentrated thinking. "So what's the plan Ruby?" she asked, curiosity mixed with a giving in of focussing on her thoughts sparking her to ask a little earlier than normal.

Ruby let out a "Huh?" as she raised her head to look at Weiss before quickly speaking after realising that Weiss was unimpressed with her response. "Oh, we err… Make a lot of noise…"

The white-haired girl groaned in frustration. "Come on Ruby, that's your plan?"

That's when Yang interfered, defending her sister. "I think it's a good plan!" Weiss rolled her eyes and scoffed at Yang's argument, or lack thereof.

"You would Yang, unfortunately for you not everyone wants to get eaten alive by two of three hordes of Grimm!" Weiss's voice had picked up in volume now, turning into a bit of a shout as she verbally attacked Yang. Blake remained quiet as Weiss continued to insult Yang. _Weiss was Weiss, this was her thing._ Nearly every mission involved Weiss calling out Ruby or Yang for overlooking a minor detail or in rare cases such as this, not actually having a plan at all. "Dunce", "Dolt" and recently "Miscreant" had all become common insults that the two sisters, and even Blake herself at times had come to just immediately shrug off.

However when Ruby tried to intervene and calm Weiss down and the malevolent princess turned her familiar fury onto the young girl Blake decided it was time to step in. "She's only trying to help Weiss!" Weiss's gaze snapped over to Blake, the rage evident in Weiss's cold, blue eyes, Blake tried her best to maintain a calm and brave demeanour as she bit back any fear of this blowing out of proportion; these were the first words she had actually spoken to Weiss outside of greetings and formal reminders that she was in improving health in the last week.

"The plan may not be one of Ruby's best." she spared a glance to the wincing young girl, a twang of guilt rising in her stomach, whether or not she liked or even loved Ruby, she wasn't going to lie to her. "BUT it is one more plan than we had a minute ago and it COULD work. If something in the forest is disturbing the Grimm then there's no reason why it wouldn't come after us."

Weiss hadn't even moved as Blake argued against her, she just sat on her seat, arms folded across her chest, an icy stare directed at the faunus as she patiently waited for Blake to finish, in her mind she already had this argument won.

"What if you're wrong? What if there is no monster and all our noise does is attract a flock of Nevermore or disturb a Deathstalker nest?" she asked pointedly, a look of pride on her face telling Blake that Weiss believed this argument was over as soon as Blake began it. However the look faded as Weiss questioned why Blake had a smile on her face.

"Then you get a chance on catching up on the all-nighter of combat practise you missed two days ago…"

**Presently**

Weiss took in the situation once more, Ruby was likely injured, Yang was certainly exhausted and here they were staring down an abomination of a creature. Blake had already seemingly jumped to the same conclusion:_ she had to do this _before running headlong at the monster, narrowly avoiding a swipe from the snake head before ducking beneath a swing from the ursa/boarbatusk hybrid slashing as the bone plate armour before using her semblance to escape a second Taijitu attack but was hit by the tail. _Of course it would have a tail too… _Weiss complained to herself as Blake recovered quickly and dashed back, seemingly desperate to keep the monster busy.

Readying her weapon Weiss dashed forward, the brutish behemoth too slow to keep both Weiss and Blake on the defensive as the duo assaulted the creatures, their weapons however just bounced off the armoured hide and left no mark before it roared, the force of the roar pushing the duo back, knocking Blake off-balance. _That's new…_ Weiss noted continuing her assault slashing at the beast several times before narrowly avoiding a swipe, appearing behind it and dancing with the Taijitu part of its body for a moment before having to back off due to a tail swipe with a surprisingly wide arc. _None of this is working._

She glanced over to Blake who was back on her feet, and over to Ruby who was being supported by Yang. _I need to end this _she surmised before setting Myrtenaster to its red mode, a red glow emanating from her weapon's blade as the beast charged at her on all fours.

"Weiss I have a plan!" shouted Blake. "Listen to me!" but her teammate couldn't hear her; she had already blocked out everything and focussed solely on the task at hand. Raising her blade she blocked the attack, a burst of red coming from her weapon as the beast growled and staggered, and yet Weiss's form still faltered, the technique was not enough to block all of the force and the beast recovered before she did, ripping its head upwards and sending the heiress flying across the battlefield, landing with a thud as it charged again.

Yang fired off a few blasts from Emblem Celica but it wasn't enough, it was still charging and Weiss wasn't on her feet. Blake tried to intercept the beast, pulling its attention for a few seconds as he trashed about in a fit rage; it was much faster on all fours and was able to better use its mass of body parts as weapons. Blake couldn't get a solid hit in between the armour. _Come on Weiss, I need you… _she thought before she was struck by the beast's helmeted head, slamming into the ground before the beast charged towards Weiss once more.

Weiss recovered just in time to cast a protection glyph which the beast smashed through with ease required Weiss to dodge once more before she was swatted away by the tail. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS ON YOUR OWN WEISS!" Blake yelled as the two recovered from their falls.

Ruby watched on helplessly, hating herself as she tried to stand on her own; barely coping with the pain as she stood, there was no way she could handle Crescent Rose's recoil in her condition. "It should be me out there sis, not them! I should be helping."

"Let me get you to a safer spot and I will." Yang tried reasoning as she loosed another shot at the unharmed beast before guiding her behind a tree and setting her down.

"It should be ME, sis. NOT YOU! I'm the leader…"

Yang took one last glance at her teary-eyed younger sister and then glanced at the fight taking place, Weiss was clearly not working in tandem with Blake despite the fact that they were attacking together, and both were clearly hurting. "I'm sorry Ruby." She muttered before dashing off leaving the 15 year old to peer around the tree at the battle. _It should be me…_

Yang arrived just in time to save Weiss from another impaling and distract the monster from crushing Blake. "New plan, get Ruby and get out of here!" Yang shouted at her disorganised teammates before firing three more shells, rolling to the side of the Taijitu head, jumping over the tail swipe and delivering a few explosive jabs to the beast, a crack finally appearing in the armour before she was pushed back by a horse-like kick.

_Damnit… _"What are you waiting for Blake, come on, we have to go!" Weiss shouted as the duo watched Yang struggle to keep the attention of one of nature's atrocities. _Well, actually it doesn't look natural at all… _

Grabbing Blake, Weiss made a beeline for the red hair in the trees, the duo worked in unison for the first time that night, each supporting Ruby as they headed deeper into the treeline.

They could hear the sounds of Yang's shotgun gauntlets as they faded into the distance. _Was she drawing it away? _Blake released herself from Ruby, the girl's arm clutching her ribs once more as she charged headlong into the more normal creatures of Grimm, her katana slicing into one hide before ducking under a claw jumping into the air, her cleaver slicing through the chest of another creature of Grimm as she carved a path for Weiss and Ruby.

Finding a dead-end cavern they set their leader down, Blake immediately turning on her heels and bolting after their missing teammate. Weiss paid little to no attention to her teammate instead quickly throwing together a fire using some sticks and what remained of her red dust.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" came an enraged shout from beside her causing Weiss to visibly jump and wince as she turned to face Ruby, a genuine look of hate and anger in her eyes that pained Weiss. Still Weiss was on the defensive and had no idea what Ruby was yelling at her about, her usual mechanism kicked in as she retorted venomously:

"WHAT THE HELL WAS WHAT!?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Thing in the Forest Part 2**

Gambol Shroud's blade slammed into one of the many trees of the Emerald Forest, a shadow briefly appearing on the ground where the moonlight caught Blake as she swung between the treelines. She had no idea where she was heading but she knew that there was a faint roar in the distance, somewhere in this general direction.

_If only Weiss had listened to me none of this would have happened._ Blake shook her head as she landed on the branch of another tree and gazed out into the lush green, there was not a thing in sight, the monster's path of destruction seemed to end a mile back. _No don't blame Weiss for this; she's just confused that's all… _She let out a sigh as she scanned the last area she could see from her perch. _No sign of Yang… or that thing anywhere. _

The shrill caw of a mature Nevermore withdrew her from her analysis of the current situation and the cat Faunus pressed her body against the tree, hoping the leaves would offer enough cover. _Smaller than the last one we fought, still I'd rather not tangle with it right now. Huh? It doesn't seem to be working with anything, guess neither it nor any potentially remaining Deathstalkers would have a reason to be particular afraid of that abomination._

Once the bird had passed over her hiding spot, Blake leapt out of the cover of the tree and gripped the branch of another, hoisting herself up before continuing her run through the thick forest's treetops. _Where could she be? What could she be thinking? Goddamnit Yang, I'll kill you for this. _She hoped Ruby found something else to think about, anything to distract the poor girl from worrying about Yang, or Blake herself.

"WOOHOO!"

Blake's head snapped up at the sound of what was unmistakably Yang's voice. _What the fu- _Before she could finish her thought the busty blonde burst from in between several branches, her eyes widening as she realised that something was in the way of her trajectory. "WATCH OUT!"

Blake's eyes now widened too as she saw her partner barrelling towards her at high speeds. Blake was caught like a deer in the headlights, failing to recover from her shock of seeing Yang appear out of seemingly thin air as said person slammed into her, the duo tumbling to the ground. _I'm starting to get well-acquainted with this floor tonight… definitely going to kill Yang._

"Oh, hey Blake!" Yang greeted casually as if she hadn't just led an intimidating, bloodthirsty and down-right creepy chimera-like monster away from the group, resulting in everyone worrying sickly about her and prompting Blake to go on a search and rescue mission.

"Goddamnit Yang! You had us worried!"

A smile crossed Yang face _Aww, Blakey was worried about me. _Still, deciding that now was not the time for teasing she instead chose to rub the back of her neck as she searched for the right words to say to justify her reckless move. She still failed even whilst wasting time "Oh yeah, sorry about that!"

Blake looked at her incredulously as the duo helped one another back to their feet, grateful that the area was pretty much barren of dangers beyond a few toxic plants and berries. "Is that it? You're sorry?"

"Uh, no of course not... I just needed to do anything I could do lead it away becauseyouguysaremoreimportanttomethananythingintheworld." That required a double take by Blake, Yang had somehow managed to pull off a Ruby and babble so incoherently, at such a ridiculous pace that she almost gave up on the conversation. Still Ruby was slightly faster and as she pieced together her partner's words she let a smile cross her lips. _This is what friendship feels like. Who knew?_

"Wait." Blake's face dropped as she began to retrace the events of the already chaotic night. "If you led it into the forest and gave it the slip… then where is it now?" she asked her partner.

"Oh umm…" the blonde rubbed the back of her neck once more, her eyes avoiding Blake's as she realised something: _I have no idea. _Almost immediately the pair heard a loud, bone chilling growl rip through the air, closer than what Blake had been following for the last ten minutes.

"Never mind, I think I found it."

"Uh, should we run before it finds us?"

"Yup."

And with that the duo dashed off back towards the original trail of destruction, Blake leading the pair as she mentally reminded herself of the route she took to get here. _Well at least I won't actually have to see Ruby worrying…_ Ruby wasn't worrying however, no Blake's wish earlier had already come true, she had found something else to occupy herself with...

**Ten Minutes Earlier**

"WHAT WAS WHAT!?" Weiss screamed, rage born from defense in her voice as she prepared herself for what could be a long and painful argument.

Ruby boiled over at the response, finally unable to take anymore of Weiss's distancing of herself from Blake. "Stop playing dumb Weiss! You and I both know what this is about!" Weiss looked at her partner perplexed as her partner continued confronting her. "You need to stop lying to yourself, lying to Blake, because it's not helping anyone! It hurts Blake to experience this rejection, or lack thereof. And it pains me to watch you two not get along anymore!"

"That's preposterous you dunce! I've done no such thing to Blake, we spoke, I forgave her, and we put it behind us!" Ruby let out an angry growl at Weiss's remarks. "It's in our past Ruby, we moved on, why can't you? Why are you so hung up on this?"

_Too far Weiss… _Ruby exploded with anger, clutching at her ribs as she moved to stand, pain shooting through her body with each shout. "BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T WEISS!" that stopped the white-haired girl in the middle of her own rant.

"What are you talking about?" she asked her partner still perplexed.

"I'm talking about you doing everything in your power to avoid speaking or working with Blake! Ever since our last run-in with Torchwick you've done nothing but place me and Yang in between you and Blake." Weiss tried to intervene, to explain herself to the younger girl but Ruby's rant was unrelenting "And when you couldn't do that you found an excuse to avoid her completely!" Ruby's voice started to take a near mocking tone as she impersonated her partner. ""I've gotta clean Myrtenaster", "I said I'd help Pyrrha train", "I should go and get Blake her assignments" Everything you've done in the last two weeks with respect to Blake has been with intent to push her away!"

Weiss found herself taken aback by that last part of the redhead's tirade as she thought back over the events of this very night. _I convinced myself not to speak to Blake, I subconsciously placed Ruby and Yang in between us despite the fact we usually stand together during briefings, and I never once switched positions with her during the Grimm assault… Was Ruby right? _"I don't know what to say…"

"Then don't say anything and just listen, because if you refuse to let Blake tell you about her past then I have no choice but to, before you end up getting killed because you completely ignored her during a fight!"

_Wait what? That never happened. Tell her that you dolt! _"That's never happened Ruby!"

Ruby groaned again, an all too common occurrence during this argument. "Oh really? That's why Blake said she had a plan and you completely ignored her and fought that, that, that, that thing all on your own! Why did you do that Weiss? If you listened maybe you wouldn't have nearly been skewered three times, Blake wouldn't have nearly been crushed several times and she and Yang would be here with us right now!"

"BECAUSE WE CAN'T TRUST THAT SHE WILL ALWAYS BE THERE RUBY!" Weiss shrieked back, the weight of her own, unexpected words finally opening her eyes as the last piece fell into place. _Ruby was right. _

Ruby had no response; her rage had evolved into sadness as tears began to flow at the reminder that Blake and Yang, two girls whom she'd die for if need be were somewhere in the forest with that fiendish beast still at large, quite possibly on their own. And here she was, hidden in a tiny cave, incapable of helping them with Weiss finally confirming what she had feared to be true all along. Seeing the mood shift Weiss rushed over to her sobbing partner, clutching the teen in her arms, Ruby's face burying itself in Weiss's shoulder.

Ruby sniffed several times. "I'm just so scared you know?" Another short wail escaping her throat causing Weiss to swallow the lump of regret and self-anguish that was in her own as she cradled her partner. "I don't want to lose any of you…"

Weiss let out a sigh and began to rub Ruby's aching back gently. _Beneath it all Ruby was still just a scared, innocent fifteen year old girl. _A single tear droplet slipped down Weiss's face. "I'm scared too Ruby."

Her partner lifted her face from her now damp shoulder. "Really?" the red-haired girl asked.

"Of course, I'm scared that Yang and Blake won't come back. I'm scared that, when we return to Beacon we'll have nothing but despair to show for this mission. I'm scared that, one day, I'll wake up and realise that my father was right. That I really shouldn't have decided to follow my mother's footsteps and become a huntress." _And I'm scared of what horrors may be revealed if I asked Blake about her past… _The two sat there in silence for a few brief seconds, both in their own worlds of worry, self-loathing and fear. "Ruby?" Weiss asked, finally killing the ominous silence.

Ruby sniffed a few more times, wiping away the tears from her eyes that had begun to hamper her vision. "Yes?"

_This is it… _Weiss thought to herself as she mentally prepared for what the conversation to come may bring to light. "Tell me about Blake's past."

**Present time**

The waiting had been killing Weiss as she waited patiently, hoping alongside her friend that their teammates would return to them save and sound. The atmosphere was tense and yet the duo was mildly content to sit in one another's arms in silent comfort. The reassuring touch of Ruby's hand on Weiss's shoulder chased away the hate she had for herself for denying Blake the chance of forgiveness, a single thought on her mind as she sat there huddled with Ruby around the dying flame she set away ten minutes ago. _I can still make this- _she stopped herself there, as she had every time the thought passed through her mind, she wasn't going to lie to herself anymore:_ I hope I can still make this right…_

The heavy atmosphere only grew more so with each passing second. Every moment that disappeared without development weakening the resolve of the comfort the two partners offered one another until thoughts of their friends' and love ones' fates began to seep through once again. _No, no, no, don't do this Ruby. _Weiss thought as she felt another tear drop fall onto her combat skirt. "Shshshshh, it's going to be alright Ruby. Everything is going to be fine." _I hope…_

Weiss guessed that she had been sat there, her hand entangled in Ruby's hair, her other arm wrapped around her body in a hug for at least another ten minutes before she spied movement outside. It seemed that Ruby had found the blissful world of dreams whilst pressing her face into Weiss's shoulder; Weiss didn't make a move despite her better judgment that it could be anything out there. _They could only afford for there to be one outcome_, and so Weiss put all her faith into believing in it.

A few leaves rustled and two figures emerged from the darkness, thankfully smaller than the creature they had encountered earlier that hour. As they stepped from the shadows and into the moonlight the heiress let out a sigh of relief. _I knew it. _Before her stood Yang and Blake both of them looking slightly dishevelled, likely due to fatigue, they walked slowly to the cave, Yang's pace picking up as she spotted her unmoving sister. "Oh my God, is she ok?"

Weiss lifted a finger to her lips and made a "Shhh" sound at Yang whom quietened down. "She's fine, she's just resting." Weiss peered at Blake who looked surprisingly more worried than she normally would at seeing a teammate injured before turning back to Yang. "Could you watch over her for a minute?" she asked, Yang glancing over to Blake then back at her sleeping sister before giving Weiss a nod. Extricating herself from Ruby and resting the redhead on her older sister, Weiss walked over to Blake for the first time in ten days without carrying a pile of assignments or a replacement bandage. "We need to talk." Blake visibly gulped before nodding, the duo leaving the cave to give both themselves, and Yang and Ruby some privacy.

Rain had begun to fall as the black and white themed girls came to a stop, several metres away from the cave, the trees overhead giving a little cover from the light drizzle. Weiss and Blake both found themselves just gazing at each other, neither knowing for sure what to say and both struggling to find the words to start of the conversation. Blake was the first to begin. "Weiss I-"

She was deftly cut off by Weiss "Stop." Blake held her breath, willing to wait for Weiss to speak again despite the anxiety manifesting in the pit of her stomach. "Ruby told me everything Blake."

_Everything? _Blake thought before trying to question Weiss "Wha-"

"I said stop Blake." Weiss cut her off again before letting out a sigh. "She told me how you told her that the White Fang used to be a peaceful organisation, and how they took you in as an orphan and, because of your idolisation of their kind leaders you fought for their-your-cause." Blake was in shock, she never pegged Ruby as someone who didn't respect people's privacy and yet, at the same time, she couldn't bring herself to be mad at the young girl. "She also told me about how, once you learned of their changed ways, you left."

That stung Blake on the inside and yet she swallowed down any regret and spoke up. "I did…"

"So" Weiss begun as she tried her best to organise her already processed thoughts. "I would like to apologise." That stung Blake once more… "I should never have disallowed you the opportunity of forgiveness. And I'm sorry I had to hear it from Ruby. I should've had the courage to ask you directly."

The duo stood there unspeaking for a short while, the rain picking up around them. Weiss was smiling at Blake, genuinely, for the first time since they met Sun._ I wonder how he is… _Finally realising that Blake had nothing to say the heiress spoke up once more, a sheepish expression on her face and a shy tone in her voice. "Can I-Can I see them?" she asked.

That got Blake's attention as she peered at Weiss quizzically before realising what she was asking. After a moment of thought Blake decided that she deserved to see them _even if it does get rain _in _my ears, she is a friend after all._ Reaching up she pulled on the two ends of the ribbon and brought her hand down, the bow coming undone, revealing a pair of purple cat ears that twitched as a droplet of water landed on the left one.

Weiss took in her teammate's actual appearance. "Huh… They are kind of cute." She murmured with a smile. There was no blush.

Blake smiled back giving a nonchalant "thanks", her mind already elsewhere _there was no blush._

"We should head back inside, Yang'll be waiting for us, and besides we still have that thing to kill." Weiss said. Blake just nodded in acknowledgement and fixated her bow back on her head, her second pair of ears slightly dampened by the steady drip of the rainwater coming from the trees that were overhead. _Why didn't I blush?_

* * *

"Remember the plan Weiss, I'll distract it long enough for you to freeze the tail, but I'll also need your air step glyphs to get out of there. With the Taijitu out of commission we'll have a short amount of time to find a hole in the armour and attack, just remember it'll still have what it needs to kill you."

Yang looked over to the two girls that were in front, Weiss and Blake had been surprisingly social around each other as they searched the forest for the beast once more. Yang was supporting Ruby, not out of necessity for Ruby, but out of necessity for her, it was a coping mechanism more than anything. "You know, I think I cracked the armour right beneath its left arm… leg… thingy."

Blake nodded in acknowledgement, considering the new information, when she thought up the plan earlier Yang wasn't exactly in a condition that would warrant a place in her strategy if she could avoid it, and she could. Still, punching a hole in the beast's armour may be better than searching for a hole. "Think you could get in there and finish blasting it open?"

Yang laughed at the notion that she couldn't, her eyes briefly flashing red as she longed to unleash some pent up frustration developed from watching Blake and Weiss at each other's throats until recent events, Ruby getting hurt and Blake and Weiss in trouble. "Of course I can Blakey." Yang chuckled as Blake slightly turned her head back, shooting daggers out of the one eye Yang could actually see before smiling and shaking her head.

Ruby moved along at a slower pace alongside her sister, still feeling a little down at the fact that they agreed back at the cave that Ruby would stay out of it unless she was certain that she would be a game changer. It hurt the redhead emotionally to know that this was one fight she wouldn't be fighting alongside her teammates if they had their way more so than the agony of potentially having a cracked rib or three hurt her physically, but this was the plan, this was unfortunately how it is. _Stuff happens, don't it? _That's what Yang said to her when she objected to the plan. _Yeah… stuff happens…_ she thought to herself as she moved along beside her sister.

It wasn't very long before the group picked up the trail of the beast; it had apparently been hunting Blake and Yang for a short while after their near-encounter and wasn't too far away from the cave they had taken shelter in to catch a brief reprieve from the chaos. "It hasn't seen us yet and with any luck it won't until Yang has shattered that bone plating…" summarised Ruby as they slowed down to observe the creature for a moment. _There's no way that that's natural._ "You ready sis?"

The blonde just nodded and let go of Ruby, the girl as expected being able to at least stand on her own as the blonde dashed into the clearing the beast had taken domain of. The beast turned at the sound of Emblem Celica pumping as she swung her fist at the cracked armour, a fiery explosion ringing out and the beast roaring. Still the beast did not falter, the Taijitu head instead merely whipping itself at the blonde, sending the woman across the clearing. The armour had yet to fully break but hopefully it was weakened enough to easily break without such forceful means.

With Yang recovering in the field the creature turned its attention to the prey. _This is our chance. _Blake thought before glancing over to Weiss, the two sharing a nod before running out. Weiss immediately impaled the ground with Myrtenaster, a torrent of ice erupting from the blade and slamming into the monster as Blake dashed forward, her eyes focussed on the crumbling piece of armour as Yang recovered and fired off several shots, staggering and dazing their foe.

Blake pulled back her weapon, the katana collapsing in to form a kama as she pulled the trigger on Gambol Shroud's hilt, the sickle hooking into the small opening left by Yang's assault and, with a pull of the ribbon and another shot ringing out, the small piece of bone armour exploded outwards, revealing a small piece of flesh. Blake used the momentum of her kusarigama to propel her body forward, gripping the hilt of her blade once more as it extended outwards taking the form of a katana again. With a single thrust the blade sunk into the flesh of the hideous abomination eliciting a roar of pain as the spike on the back of the blade cut into another piece of meat. The abomination however was unfazed physically; along with the roar the monstrosity slammed a paw into Blake knocking her backwards, her katana still embedded in the formidable enemy.

Ruby watched on from the side lines, her body recoiling as she heard a crack and watched Blake slide across the rough forest terrain, her shoulder contorting. Turning her attention back to the monster she looked on as Weiss and Yang had jumped back into action. The assault was more cohesive than Weiss and Blake's had been earlier, aided by the fact that the beast was soldered to the spot with half its body held in a veil of ice, however the attacks weren't leading to anything, it was just stalling for time and hopefully cracking a few more pieces of armour to allow more than one blade to effectively go to work. Ruby pulled out her weapon as Blake staggered to her feet. The faunus dashed back towards the beast, her left shoulder seemingly out of place.

The Grimm hybrid swung once more, limited in its movements allowing Weiss to easily duck beneath and cast a glyph to propel her into the air and unleash several slash attacks on the bone mask of the monster before backing out again disallowing it to disarm her like the first Boarbatusk she fought did. Correctly predicting the creature's attempt to disarm Weiss, Yang jumped up and delivered an uppercut to the jawline of the creature causing it to slam back against the ice prison of its snake half.

The beast let out another roar, staggering both of its attackers before it began stomping the ground causing minor quakes which seemed to do little more than shake the duo off balance. Seeing an opportunity Blake dove in, the monster seemed a little fatigued by its outburst and she thought she'd be able to retrieve her katana and maybe even deliver a final blow to that cracked central plate of armour on its chest. However she misread the situation, the small tremors had cracked the ice prison of the Taijitu half and right as Blake closed in it struck, another crash resounding through the meadow-like arena as Blake collided with the head, the sheer power behind the hit launching Blake across the clearing with another thud.

Now free it dropped to all fours and charged at the shocked Blake. Yang loosed a barrage of shotgun blasts that went largely ignored by the still existent, albeit weakened armour. Weiss in her attempt to stop the rampaging beast dived in front of its path, half-way between it and Blake and threw up a protection glyph in the vain hope that this time it might work. It didn't, the beast smashed through the glyph and then swatted the white-haired girl to the side, its momentum completely unimpeded as it charged with intent to skewer the Faunus woman of the group.

Yang and Weiss watched on in horror as the beast closed in on their teammate, unable to help the downed girl, all they could was shut their eyes and hope for a miracle, and then a single shot was fired, the sound of tusks slicing into skin, muscle and bone was heard and two distinctly different screams of distress sliced through the air. Yang only opened her eyes when she heard Blake shout Ruby's name.

She caught a brief glimpse of the beast tossing Ruby's body to the side, another disgusting squelch being heard as the redhead's body slid off of the tusk of the abomination. Yang shook for a moment, a mix of despair and anger running her through her as Weiss and Blake went to work on the beast each wildly assaulting the monster as he staggered naturally for the first time from the sheer force of the slashing attacks.

In retaliation the beast roared, gaining a small amount of breathing room only for a fiery blonde to pounce onto its back, narrowly avoid the snake head and then grip the bony mask that protected the beasts head and neck. Pulling on the bone she hoped the Taijitu part would attack, and it did. Yang fired off two more rounds, one from each of her gauntlets and yanked on the bottom of the mask as the snake launched her into the air, the collective force ripping the mask from the creature's face.

The beast growled and staggered once more as Weiss dived at it and forced Myrtenaster through its more exposed eye socket and jumped on the Taijitu head in an attempt to control it as Blake ducked beneath a pair of feral swings from the half-blind beast and proceeded to swing the cleaver at the monster's throat, slicing straight through the jugular and causing the beast to finally fall. With the creature on the ground all that remained was a helpless and incapable of movement Taijitu, but that wasn't their concern.

Yang, Blake and Weiss hurried over to their fallen leader, Ruby was lay on her side clutching at a hole in her lower left stomach. _Oh my God there's a hole in my sister… THERE'S A HOLE IN MY SISTER'S CHEST! _Yang thought to herself hysterically, tears streaming down her face. Blake also broke down as she took in the state of her saviour.

"We need evacuation now! Ruby is injured! Send medical help! NOW YOU DOLTS!" barked Weiss into Ruby's undamaged scroll, completely out of protocol and lacking her usual formality. _My partner could be dying; I'm not going to let her die so I can be polite…_

"Stay with us Ruby!" Blake sobbed, her hand stroking the redhead's face as Yang cradled the girl in her arms. Thankfully Ruby had passed out from the pain, which meant that she wasn't feeling it, and that neither Blake nor Yang had to watch her agonise over the potentially fatal wound. "You're going to be alright! Everything is going to be fine! Everything…"

* * *

The rest of the night was a haze to the team. Neither Blake nor Yang were even processing the information being given to them and Weiss was struggling to cope with it as well.

"Prepare the surgery room, this is an emergency!"

"Luckily no major organs were hit… And she was fast enough to avoid the second tusk…"

"She's alive… barely…"

"There's nothing more we can do but wait."

_There's nothing more… except not have forced Ruby to take such drastic measures to save me in the first place. I shouldn't have been so reckless, then I wouldn't have been in danger and Ruby wouldn't be…_

_Stupid! Stupid! Come on Weiss you should have been able to stop it from charging, this all your fault!_

_What was I thinking using my shotguns? I'd have had a better chance of staggering it if I got in closer… Ruby's here because of me…_

* * *

"Professor Ozpin, judging from the wound to Ruby we can at least assume they found something that isn't native to the Emerald Forest. We will debrief Ms. Weiss Schnee as soon as they have recovered emotionally from this incident."

Ozpin sighed, looking over the damage reports; Ruby was nearly killed, Blake dislocated her shoulder, Yang was a psychological wreck and Weiss was suffering from physical and mental exhaustion. "I just hope it was worth it..."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 – Recovery**

_Hello friends,_

_The initiation was awesome! Well, it didn't start out awesome, that crabby girl yelled at me a couple more times… She's my fighting partner now though so I know I can be her friend given enough time! Oh yeah, the initiation. So we were literally launched into the Emerald Forest and told that the first person we made eye contact with would be our partner for the next four years, FOUR YEARS! Anyways I accidentally killed a birdy and after some sweet aerial manoeuvres I was the on the ground, remembering what Professor Ozpin said I was searching for my sister, instead I bumped into that Weiss girl again._

_She tried to run away from me before finally coming back and then we got set upon by some beowolves, an easy fight I know, but she set fire to the forest! And then she blamed me! And then she yelled at me again for her getting us lost. But it's okay, she'll come around eventually. Then we rode a greater Nevermore which was fun but Weiss again yelled at me and we decided to jump… well I decided to jump, she didn't like that for some reason. As I was falling vomit boy crashed into me and we ended up in a tree. Oh and I found my sister, and that cute Blake girl I was telling you about._

_The next thing we know we are watching a real life Deathstalker chasing none other than PYRRHA NIKOS! And then my sister did that thing she does when she gets angry and she literally exploded because she was sick of all the madness (Oh yeah I should mention that this redhead that I'm sure Jade would love rode in on an ursa and then surfed its corpse)… I love it when she does that._

_Let me skip ahead passed Weiss falling out of the sky (I DID tell her to jump…). So I kind of messed up, I got a little excited and decided to take on a Deathstalker one on one (don't do that) and that Nevermore pinned me to the ground and I was really scared and then Weiss saved me. After everything that happened she saved me by FREEZING IT TO THE SPOT! She yelled at me again of course, but she saved me. And she froze a Deathstalker pincer in place! I know we are going to be good friends, she's awesome._

_After that we retrieved the relics needed (oh yeah they were a thing) and we ran back to the cliffs. That damned Nevermore cut us off again and the Deathstalker managed to free itself and chased after us, we were trapped and left to face two of the most fearsome variants of Grimm encountered in the Vale area! It was awesome, that crazy redhead I mentioned earlier had a grenade launching warhammer and used it to impale the Deathstalker with its own stinger that Pyrrha and this other guy, Ren, cut off. And then, with the help of Weiss, Blake and Yang, I literally dragged the Nevermore up the side of a cliff and decapitated it (You guys should have seen it!)._

_Back at Beacon it turned out the relics would decide the other two members of the teams and Weiss and I got paired with Blake and Yang (couldn't have asked for a better result) and then we got showed to our dorms. They're… a little cramped, but its cosy! I stayed up most the night with my sister just chatting about things until Weiss yelled at us. Shortly after that my partner fell asleep and I was about to spark another conversation with my sister only to realise that she was also asleep… Then I heard Blake's voice from the farthest away bed, she realised that we were reading the same book at that moment and she read me one of the chapters until I fell asleep. She may be quiet, but she's still very nice and friendly…_

_Love Ruby._

* * *

"Do you think she can hear us?" asked Yang.

"I…" Blake thought for a moment about her response "Have no idea, I like to hope so."

It had been three long weeks since the incident in the Emerald Forest, Blake and Yang had barely left Ruby's bedside at all since then. Ozpin had yet to debrief them, and yet they knew from Weiss that there was a reason for that, the investigators hadn't come because their teammate had already told them everything. Ozpin had since busied himself with the running of the academy as well as collaborating with a few more biologists in an attempt to solve this disturbing mystery.

So here the two sat, watching over the recovering young girl, just waiting for her to finally open her eyes. "The doctor said it could be any day now." Weiss said with a smile as she entered the room. Neither of her teammates shifted their gaze from the unconscious Ruby to the newly arriving Weiss, instead they just gave small nods, acknowledging what she said. "You two should get some rest, it's been 36 hours since you last slept Yang…" again neither moved, Yang shrugged her shoulders. "You guys need to sleep; I'll stay here and keep an eye on her." There was still no movement from either, their focus remaining on the bed-ridden leader of Team RWBY. "Please…" Weiss finally said almost pathetically.

That seemed to work, Blake's head turn to glance at Weiss before pivoting back round Ruby. She gave the unmoving redhead a small smile. "I'll be back soon." She promised before tapping Yang's shoulder breaking the blonde out of her own trance. "Come on, Weiss will be here if she wakes up." Yang finally nodded, surrendering to her teammates' persistence and the duo headed to a small room in the hospital dedicated to "Families and Loved Ones", the door closing behind them leaving Weiss alone with her partner.

She couldn't help but feel saddened as she looked over the girl "Hey Ruby." Her eyes scanned over Ruby's form, taking in every detail as they had done countless times before in the last few weeks. Ruby's usually bubbly demeanour was replaced by a silent husk lay almost lifelessly on a hospital bed save for the weak, shallow breaths she took to remind everyone that she was still fighting.

The combat gear that had become synonymous with the energetic teen was cast to the side of the bed, folded neatly in a pile on the top of her bedside table, the cloak nestled at the top. In its place was a hospital gown, adding to the depressing, pathetic and frail look of their team leader.

Several tubes protruded from her body, all connected to an anaesthesia machine responsible for measuring her EEG activity, heart rate, blood pressure and at least a dozen more internal processes. The usual equipment was also present, pressure gauges, reserve gas cylinders, a ventilator circuit to aid in breathing, a food bag to provide necessary nutrients and piped nitrous oxide, oxygen and medical air in the event that anaesthesia needs to be administered. All in all, Ruby never looked more helpless, more vulnerable, which was something that pained Weiss to have to admit.

"How are you doing Ruby?"

* * *

_ Hello friends,_

_I know it's been a while and I'm sorry but it's gotten a little hectic since the start of the school year. I finally managed to patch things up with Weiss thanks to Professor Port and Professor Ozpin and she's been a great help in keeping me on top of my work, she's part of the reason why I have time to write this letter. Still she's not the main reason. Blake is._

_So last night was my last night to finish off some extra reading Oobleck had set me after he caught me drawing a rocket sniper in class (I swear I could build that thing) and I was a little stressed out over it because Oobleck can get quite scary when he's mad. Anyways Weiss helped me do a large amount of it but eventually she had her own work to do and afterwards she was far too tired to even bother putting her suitcase away. My sister was of even less help, she had no work to do and, after seeing Weiss helping me out she decided to turn in early and I am NEVER waking her up without a great reason!_

_As you guys probably already guessed I fell asleep, again. I swear I'm useless when it comes to schoolwork it's just so boring, you know? And sometimes I just don't see how it helps me become a better huntress. The next thing I know I'm being woken up by Blake, she had prepared me a strawberry jam sandwich (I still don't know how she knew I loved strawberries…) and some milk and even brought me some cookies._

_We just sat there for ten minutes as I ate, talking about little of importance. She did let me know that Oobleck thought my schematics were good and we laughed over Yang burning her hair on her own started fire (she may or may not have almost burned down Peach's lab). Oh and she finally managed to stop Weiss complaining about the bunk beds (Oh yeah, they're a thing too. They're awesome and everybody loves them, even if Weiss and Blake are a little scared being on the bottom bunks.)_

_After that she stayed up with me all night, helping me with the work I was behind on and even helped me finish up a few more assignments once she learned that I hadn't spoken to you guys in a while. She then told me a story about herself, it was quite entertaining. I think she may have exaggerated a few things but Yang used to do that all the time. I do wish she'd have not risk going into the forest all on her lonesome so late at night, God knows what could have happened to her!_

_By the end of the story the sun had come up and neither of us were willing to risk falling asleep just two hours before classes started so Blake told me to grab a shower and said she'd make everyone breakfast. The shower was nice, and the breakfast was better. Blake really is an awesome person. So sweet, so considerate, so friendly, I quite literally can't find a bad thing to say about her…_

_Love Ruby_

* * *

Weiss had now been watching over Ruby for just three hours before Yang returned, she rolled her eyes at the blonde's stubborn persistence at remaining by her sister's side. It was admirable and sweet, yes; but the girl really need to eat and sleep more than an unconscious Ruby needed Yang to be by her side. A voice came from just outside the recovery room "I tried to stop her…" Weiss looked around to see Blake now entering.

_Of for God's sake _Weiss thought to herself as the second most stubborn person she'd encountered today joined. "So you thought you'd join her?"

"What was I supposed to do tie her to the bed and gag her?" Blake joked before seeing a serious, thoughtful look on Weiss's face. "Oh my God, you're actually considering aren't you?" she exclaimed.

"No, of course I'm not!" then a sly smile crossed her face "It would take handcuffs and a straitjacket to keep her down…" The duo laughed together at Yang's expense who was ignoring them, already sat by her sister's side. Weiss looked over to the blonde and finally gave up. "I suppose three hours is better than nothing… I'll go order us some food from the cafeteria." She said before turning on her heel and heading back out, calling back to her worry-some teammates. "And I fully expect you two to enjoy it!"

Blake and Yang were left alone once more with the still unconscious Ruby. "Why are you doing this, Blake?" Yang asked directly.

"Huh?"

"I mean: Why are you here so often? I know why I am, I'm an idiot who does nothing but worry if the people I love aren't in my sight when they are ill or hurt in any way. But why are you? You hated it when we pined over you for hours on end because you had a cut on your back; I never thought you'd be the hypocrite type." The potentially insulting meaning of the words uttered by Yang was removed by a caring smile and the soft voice in which they were spoken as she waited patiently for Blake to answer.

Blake thought about it for a minute. _Why am I here? _She couldn't find an answer, at least not one she was willing to believe just yet. "I… That's a very good question." The black-haired faunus took to staring at Ruby in silence, everything about her that had been passing through her mind since the Torchwick incident, _no since before even then… _racing through her mind in a jumble of emotions: Confusion, fear, worry, anxiety, contentment, joyous embarrassment, happiness; happiness most of all. She smiled again "Hey Yang?"

Yang returned a hum to let Blake know she had her attention. "What does it feel like to love someone?"

That elicited a more direct response, Yang's head whipping round to look at her partner, the girl slightly taken aback in surprise by the directness of the questions, and the implications hidden beneath. She quickly recovered though, even if she did have to double check "What do you mean?"

"I mean: How do you know if you love someone?"

Yang shrugged her shoulders. "You just do, you know? Mom always said that she knew she loved our dad since the very first time they spoke, an almost instantaneous spark of energy erupting between them as they immediately bonded. She did also say that the feelings came with one single other thought: She'd rather die so he could live just one moment longer than be forced to face the world without him by her side…"

"Huh…" was all Blake's response was.

"So who's the lucky guy?" Yang asked after a pleasant moment of silence.

Breaking herself away from her thoughts Blake finally replied. "Actually, it's a girl…"

Yang got a little more excited at that remark "Oh my god, who!?" she asked, distracted if only for a moment from her sister.

"B… Blake?" Yang and Blake's heads both whipped back around to look at the source of the noise, silver eyes visible for the first time in three weeks, a weak smile on the face of the redhead.

"Ruby!" Blake exclaimed with joy moving closer to her leader, taking the redhead's hand in hers. Yang watched on, her heart sinking the tiniest bit that it wasn't her name muttered before being replaced with ecstatic glee at hearing the first word Ruby had spoken since the forest.

"Oh my God I'm so glad you're okay!" she exclaimed, overcome with relief and joy, taking her still recovering sister into her arms and giving her a hug. "I should go get Weiss, she'd want to be here for this!" and with that Yang gave her sister another large smile before darting out of the room towards the cafeteria.

Blake, still with her fingers entwined with Ruby's just sat there for a moment, trying to think of the words to say, if she wanted to say them and if she dared… _What if she doesn't feel the same way? _She pushed aside those thoughts, put on a braver face. _There's only one way to find out. _She gulped down her fear. _Here goes nothing…_

* * *

_Hello friends,_

_Yes I know I keep talking about Blake all the time, but there's a reason for that: I've never met anyone like her before. I promise, after this last one I'll try and be broader with my subjects. That being said:_

_Blake is a Faunus! A cat Faunus! And it's soooo cute! It's somehow managed to make her even more beautiful… She opened up to me as well, she told me all about her past which I won't go into detail with here, long story short: It's a little depressing. Anyways, I feel like she's much more comfortable around me now after this, I've never seen her be this open with anyone before and it's very heart-warming to know that she trusts me this much._

_Over the weekend she'd been gone I began to feel very worried about her, I began to think about what I would do if anything happened to her and I couldn't even bear the thought of it. _

_At first I didn't understand it but then I began to think about everything that had happened between us: that night she stayed up with me until the break of dawn so that I wouldn't get yelled at and I'd have enough spare time to talk to you guys; the very first time we met when she defended me from Weiss; the night after initiation when she read to me, those few nights since; and then I began to think about every good quality she had: her honesty; her caring nature about everything be it man, faunus or animal; her kind, generous heart; her unbelievable amount of courage; her mysterious persona; that look in her eyes she gets when she's excited; that smirk she gets when she's being sarcastic; the way her black sea of hair frames her magnificently pale face… And I realised something: _

_Someone wasn't supposed to obsess this much over a friend. You guys will probably tease me a little for this letter but I don't mind being this open and admittedly a little dramatic with you so here goes… I truly think that I love her, every memory in the short time I've known Blake has been one worth cherishing, I am incapable of finding a single flaw and it pained me to know that she could have been in danger, it pains me right now to watch as Weiss gives her the cold shoulder. This has to be love, what else could it be? I wonder if she feels the same way, she does get this cute flustered look on her face whenever I compliment her…_

_Love Ruby_

_P.S. I promise to tell you guys about Torchwick, Sun and Penny in the next letter, it's awesome!_

* * *

Yang had found Weiss at the front of the queue, they didn't even bother ordering before rushing off to the medical room where Ruby was situated, arriving in the doorway Yang's jaw dropped. Pulling away from her sister was a blushing Blake. Looking closer Yang could see Blake and Ruby's fingers locked together as Blake gave the redhead's hand a gentle squeeze. "What is it?" asked Weiss as she rounded the corner. "Oh…" she spared another glance at Yang, a little disbelieving of the conclusion she had jumped to at seeing the scene in the medical room and saw… _Anguish? Oh no… _Weiss's face dropped, realisation dawning in "Oh…" she repeated.

"Excuse me ladies but I am going to have to ask you to leave for a few moments, we have some routine tests to carry out on Ms. Rose, standard outpatient procedure, nothing to worry about." came the confident, almost commanding and yet soothing voice of the doctor in charge of Ruby snapping Yang and Weiss out of their own little haze they had faded into.

"Of course, Dr. Grainger" replied Weiss as Blake turned to see her friends stood in the doorway with the doctor.

"I'll have to talk to you later Ruby, hospitals apparently aren't a place where your meant to enjoy yourself, who knew?" Blake deadpanned before releasing her grip on the redhead's hand and leaving as the doctor walked in.

"Ms. Ruby Rose, you've had quite a month…" he announced in a friendly tone as Blake, Weiss and Yang headed to the small shop at the front of the hospital. _If we can't have terrible hospital cafeteria food we'll have to settle for crisps, sandwiches and chocolate…_

* * *

The sky was darkening by the time Yang and Weiss decided to return to Beacon and sleep the night away in blissful tranquillity for the first time since Ruby's hospitalisation, no longer fretting about the younger team captain. Blake had stayed behind to keep Ruby company a while longer. They hadn't actually mentioned their newly formed relationship to their teammates but something told Blake that they already knew and for the first time in her life she didn't actually care if people knew of her private secrets; she was far too focussed on being there with Ruby.

"So Yang got me listening to the Achieve Men lately." Blake admitted.

"Oh, I'm so sorry…" Ruby joked with a laugh.

"They're… interesting to say the least. Can't help but feel that they'd be much better if they didn't try to produce songs in EVERY genre. I think I've heard dubstep, pop, rock, RnB, country and rap so far and I'm not even through the first album…"

Ruby laughed again. "Yeah… you ain't heard the worst of it yet. After a while they started doing comedy songs and covers of video game and film themes. I think they ran out of material and just took to insulting their token Faunus." Another laugh escaping before she appended to the end. "Jokingly, I should add."

"You're sister's weird…"

Ruby giggled "Tell me about." she agreed before letting out a yawn.

"How can you be tired?" Blake asked facetiously.

"That's my secret… I'm always tired." Ruby responded dramatically eliciting an eye roll and a smile from Blake. She glanced over to the book that lay on her bedside table beside some grapes _of course there'd be grapes… there's always grapes when you're in hospital… _The book was the same one Blake had been reading that very first night in the ballroom. Blake followed Ruby's gaze curiously, laughing silently as she saw what she was looking at. "Could you?" Ruby asked shyly.

"Of course."

""O God!' I screamed, and 'O God!' again and again; for there before my eyes-pale and shaken, and half fainting, and groping before him with his hands, like a man restored from death-there stood Henry Jekyll!"" Blake spared another glance over to Ruby, she was now sound asleep. Her once pained or, more recently, completely vacant expressions finally replaced with her usual look of bliss. The image was perfect save for the shiver the girl gave in her sleep.

She shut the book, memorising the page number and set it down until next time. Yang would never let Ruby, or Blake live it down if she found out about this. Sometimes when the duo were alone Blake would read to Ruby, she expressed interest in reading this particular book not long after they got better acquainted and this just kind of happened, it was actually quite nice, Blake getting rare moments to play the doting carer to someone who still had their innocence.

Walking over to her pile of clothes that had since been moved to make room for some rather pointless "get well soon" gifts Blake picked up the red cloak she almost never saw her leader, her friend, her partner without. Tip-toeing back over to the bed she draped the cloak over her and tucked her in tightly, making sure she was nice and snug. The sleeping teen let out a soft near-mew as she unconsciously snuggled into the velvet cloak, hums of pleasure escaping her as she got comfortable. Blake bent down and kissed the redhead on her forehead, blushing at her awkwardness before gently whispering "Good night Ruby."

**A/N:** It's officially a shipped fic. Decided to end with a bit of fluff, not the best fluff I could come up with but it's gotta be better than cliff hangers and sadness.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: That Which is at Hand**

_There is no rest for those that fight the wicked._ That was a fact that was dawning in on Ruby with every second that passed.

No matter how much she would prefer to just lay there one moment longer in Blake's arms, sharing in the joy of watching Weiss shift uncomfortably and complain about what the ice princess had called a "nauseatingly cute sight" there was work to be done. Thankfully it was the fun kind of work where she was wielding her second sweetheart Crescent Rose rather than that accursed pen she'd been well-acquainted with in recent times. Ruby wriggled for a moment in Blake's tender grasp, the black beauty releasing her gentle grip on her black and dark red-haired partner.

"Right, Team RWBY is ready for action! Come on team!" Ruby exclaimed.

Weiss scoffed, standing up to grab her ever flawless rapier "Finally, about time you two dunces remembered we were in a combat school…"

Her voice had been a little softer, a little quieter ever since the incident in the forest. Ruby had a few theories as to why that was but didn't actual want to question it. _Maybe she's just feeling guilty about how she treated Blake over the last month or so. Maybe she doesn't want to bring everyone down after Blake finally, officially broke the news. _Ruby shrugged the thoughts away before finally hopping off of Blake's bed and reaching underneath her and Weiss's own to retrieve the black and red sniper scythe stored beneath.

Her sister stumbled down her ladder, she herself had also been a little more reserved than usual, but Yang being Yang, always put up a social face and even though Ruby could tell something was up she waved it off when the blonde bombshell congratulated her and Blake. "Professor Ozpin wants us to meet him at the statue again." Yang explained, her voice as bubbly as ever now that she was amongst the rest of her team.

"I still don't understand the logic in that…" criticised Weiss "Surely it would be better to brief us in his office and then send us down to a hover jet rather than brief us out in the opening and fly the dastardly thing over to pick us up."

The rest of the group considered that for a few seconds, their attention finally drawn to what was quite possibly the weirdest call they had heard Ozpin make before Ruby just shrugged and threw her hands up in defeat. "I don't know either, but Ozpin's made a lot of mistakes and something tells me that he knows this won't be one of them." Letting the rather pointless conversation die there the group headed to the courtyard, Blake absently grabbing Gambol Shroud from the kitchen counter as the group idly strode past it and out of the door.

* * *

Unlike their last briefing session, Ozpin was waiting for them, this time sporting the usual "coffee and cane" look as he stood patiently, his eyes locked on the approaching students. Ruby noticed the hard stare and then noticed that once again they were out of order, this time for good reason. All that really happened was Blake and Yang swapped positions and then dropped to the right so that Blake and Ruby were in the centre, Yang flanking Blake and Weiss flanking Ruby. _Maybe that's why he's staring? No that's silly…_

A few seconds later and they were finally stood before their head teacher; Ozpin took another glance at Blake and Ruby, his eye brow raising slightly before he cleared his throat. "I didn't realise you two were involved." He said idly to which Ruby spoke up once she realised he was talking about her and Blake.

"Of course we are, Yang said we were all…" the redhead trailed off for a second, finally feeling a comforting squeeze of her hand. _Were we always- _"Ooooh…" she said realising why he had been staring. "Um… yeah, we… um… are…" she stuttered out a little flustered.

Weiss peered around Ruby, glimpsing the interlocked fingers. "I thought you guys weren't doing public displays?" she asked a little confused.

Blake released her gripped. "We weren't." she admitted a little sheepishly. _How the bloody hell didn't we notice that? _

"Well" Ozpin began "Congratulations you two." he finished before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Umm… thanks?" said Blake, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

The retired huntsman let out a quiet chuckle. "Now then, I'm sure you're all a little eager to find out what our researchers concluded on the beast you captured… or left for dead as it actually was." The group nodded, Weiss the only one to actually speak her agreement. "I thought so. The beast you fought in the forest was almost certainly NOT natural. It is widely believed that this monster, this Chimera as the scientists took to calling it, was engineered, but you could have told us that." He paused for a minute taking in the body language of the team before him, all silently agreeing that last sentence.

"However this does mean that whoever created placed it in the Emerald Forest for a reason, and since it was reported that the Grimm had allied together to defend themselves from the alien threat, several more have shown up in Grimm infested areas. Teams Juniper and Cardinal have been dispatched to the Forest of Forever Fall and the Dusty Trail respectively." He paused once more, taking in the groups reactions before appending to the end "With aid from local military forces I should add." upon seeing the look of worry on Ruby's face.

After waiting another moment Yang stepped forward. "So, are we to take down a, uh… Chimera… as well?" she asked, eager to finally get to the mission at hand.

Ozpin let out another chuckle, this one more audible than the last, at the group's willingness and eagerness. "Actually no." he finally said in response "We have more urgent matters we need to attend to, as you may know the White Fang made an appearance during the Vytal Festival targeting this very school for" he raised his hands into the air and mimed speech marks as he continued ""unfair treatment" of our Faunus students, we would like to know what information they have on the academy and we think we've found a base of operations that can give us exactly that. That is your objective today. As always, this is not mandatory, you can refuse if you so desire and enjoy your Saturday in peaceful bliss or boisterous excitement." He spared a glance only towards Blake, Ruby giving her partner her own concerned stare.

_Does he know about Blake being a Faunus? _Then a more troubling thought occurred, the girl somehow going even paler than her usual ghostly complexion: _Does he know about Blake's link to the White Fang? _She was snapped out of her stupor by the girl in question speaking up.

"It'll be fine sir." The cat Faunus said confidently as the hover jet arrived, a smile crossing Ozpin's lips as he propped his cane up against the statue's base and produced a black-coloured scroll from his pocket and handed it to Ruby, the redhead accepting it with a confused look.

"You're in for a long flight Ruby." Ozpin explained as he loosed his grip on the device. "Everything we know about the base you will be infiltrating is on that device; you may be able to pre-occupy yourself for most of the flight with thinking up a plan."

"Yeah… infiltrating… with THAT thing." Weiss deadpanned in slight disbelief as their mode of transport's engine's hummed loudly. "And couldn't you have thought up a plan ahead of time?"

Ozpin turned to look at Weiss for what may have been the first time that morning. "No." he said sternly before his voice softened slightly. "Once you leave this school you won't have anyone to rely on to think up your strategies for you Ms. Schnee, you MAY and likely WILL be on your own." He continued, his voice rising at times to emphasise certain points in his argument. "Improvisation and ingenuity are just two of the traits that every hunter has that sets them apart from law enforcement and the military." Weiss gave nod in appreciation, her stance shifting to a more formal, almost disciplined posture. "Now then, you girls have a mission to get to." A sly smirk appeared on his face. "Oh and Ms. Rose and Ms. Belladonna, I sincerely hope this doesn't mean you'll miss any reservations."

Weiss rolled her eyes at the terrible attempt of humour, Yang on the other hand giggled simply because of who the butt of the attempted joke was as Ruby laughed nervously and Blake got a little red in the face. "Let's just get on the ship." Weiss announced slightly vexed at the fact that even Ozpin was being inappropriate during what should have been a formal, and professional, exchange.

Ozpin of course let the comment slip by him as the group climbed aboard the jet and the engines roared once more and the vehicle took to the skies, leaving Ozpin alone in the courtyard. He took another sip of his now cold coffee. "Hmm…"

* * *

Ruby hadn't actually torn her eyes away from the base's blueprints all trip, it would seem that this would be a difficult mission, as Weiss pointed out earlier there's no way to guarantee that the Bullhead wouldn't give away their position ahead of time, and even then the White Fang seemed to be playing it safe with countless security mechs and defensive barriers supplementing their rather lax security force. _There's definitely something here, but what?_

She was drawn out of her thoughts by Weiss who was gazing idly out of the window, her expression becoming more worried and serious as she pieced together what she was seeing in her mind. "Uh… girls." She began, unsure of how to describe the scene down below in the trees. "We may need a different plan."

Blake looked up from the book she had been reading on the flight, she had little to do what with Ruby and Weiss pre-occupied and Yang insisting on making bad puns any time she tried to facilitate conversation with her. "Why, what's going on?" she asked.

"Well…" Weiss began once more, trailing off slightly continuing in her attempts to stall for time. "For one we won't have to knock on the door."

Yang moved now to look out the window herself, slowly getting frustrated at Weiss's vague and hesitant answers, she immediately regretted that decision. Down below, between the trees stood a small base in ruins, its previous occupants stood outside circling what looked to be a Chimera. Blake repeated her question several more times before either Weiss or Yang responded, it was the blonde. "Because there are no doors… The facility is in ruins." She then turned to Weiss. "Guess I got my wish after all…"

Ruby and Blake were more attentive now, exchanging worried glances before moving towards the window, the area around it getting a little cramped now with the four girls all staring out. "Oh my god…" Ruby said quietly, her face growing paler as feelings of nausea began to build she watched the hideous beast rip what looked to be a White Fang operative in half.

"We gotta get down there. Weiss open the door. Light 1 when we leave circle around a few times, if any reinforcements come from the White Fang get out of here." Yang called out. Weiss immediately pulled open the sliding door that had previously sheltered them from the harsh winds and dived out. Yang immediately followed.

"Are you sure you're okay to do this?" Blake asked, Ruby only nodding in response and swallowing down something. "I gotta go Ruby, our partners need me, remember you don't have to do this…" And with that Blake leapt from the jet, she was worried about Ruby, but not unsurprised when the young red-haired bundle of energy dived out behind her and began to use Crescent Rose to slow down her descent into the forest. Weiss and Yang were likely already down there. Blake gripped the hilt of Gambol Shroud, her katana once more cocking the blade back to take the form of a kama and she pulled the trigger, the blade slicing into the bark of a tree as she joined her partner and her actual partner's teammate on the battlefield.

The actually living White Fang forces barely noticed the new arrivals; they were preoccupied with skirting around the monster before them, just managing to avoid the stinger, the shockwave it sent out, its powerful jaw and its sharp claws. The supporting droids however were quick to acknowledge the new arrivals, an actual identifiable threat taken priority over the mangled mess of Grimm they were previously attacking. "New targets identified." announced a flanging voice from one of the bots, the last remaining spider droid turning and charging its beam attack.

"Oh son of a-" started Yang before the quartet split, Blake and Yang dodging to the left and right respectively as Weiss and Ruby took to the skies once again.

"So much for helping them…" muttered Yang before dashing forward in a zigzag pattern towards a group of mechs that had already started to open fire on her, when she was half way towards them she dived into the air and began firing shot after shot from her gauntlets, several mechs taking fatal hits by the time she landed between them and was forced to block several blades, the weapons doing no damage to Ember Celica as they were deflected.

Seeing an opening in the robots melee attacks she blocked one last blade and threw the bot towards a few other mechs before duck beneath another slice and delivering a powerful blow to the jaw of another and delivering a swift mule kick to the final attacker to clear her some space. A confident and short laugh escape the blonde as she prepared for the rest of the mechs to come at her once more, flames erupting from her body as she waited for the onslaught to begin again.

Blake was having a considerably less fun time. The spider droid that had switched its focus from the Chimera to the intruding Beacon students had decided to target her over the rest of her team, which whilst putting her at ease slightly meant she had to outrun a repeating barrage of plasma cannon shots, which wasn't an issue thanks to her semblance. The issue came from the security mechs that tried to test her in close combat as she had to somehow disable or destroy them without actually stopping.

Seeing the small army that were following her Blake gritted her teeth, the robots were becoming a pointless thorn in Team RWBY's side. Getting an idea she stopped, side stepped another oncoming mech and took to dodging the spider droid in a small radius until the giant mech took aim once more with its plasma beam. Drawing the army of AK-130s in around her and focussing almost entirely on the beam, spared but a small amount of concentration to allow her to dodge the robot onslaught. At the last possible second Blake used her shadow clone to jump to safety, the powerful beam instead incinerating at least a dozen of the humanoid androids.

Weiss had long since landed on the ground and had used her semblance to hurl a large number of the android troops into the air before using her air step technique to meet them, a blur of white in the clear sky as she sliced them to pieces in aerial combat. The remains of the droids all slammed into the ground as she looked over to Blake who was still distracting the spider droid, summoning another white glyph she flipped in the air.

A second glyph forming behind and the red cylinder clicking into place. Myrtenaster began to emit a striking red glow as she propelled herself towards the Spider Droid. The heiress's eyes closed shut as she thought back to her final test before her father allowed her to attend Beacon. She sliced through the spider droid, the colossal drone collapsing to the ground. _I promise you won't regret this father. I'll always come back, you'll see._

Weiss was torn from her thoughts by Ruby's rifle as round after round exploded into the one-winged Chimera, her cross-clip rounds dealing hopefully heavy damage to the unarmoured variant. Once her clip was empty the redhead charged in headfirst, brandishing her scythe as she closed in on the beast.

Momentarily letting itself forget the White Fang presence it turned to face the red buzzsaw that was Team RWBY's leader and attempted a few swipes, only connecting with several rose petals as Ruby appeared behind the beast and ripped the blade of Crescent Rose across its side, the four legged monster howling before swiping it's Deathstalker tail towards her, again missed as she pulled the trigger, a high calibre round blowing through the Chimera but not killing it as she flew back out of its range.

Weiss and Blake were now working in tandem to mop up the last of the AK-130s whilst Yang attempted to rally the few remaining White Fang forces that yet lived. Several of them had already begun fleeing once their droids were silenced and they started taking notice of the four girls wreaking havoc around them, only a few stayed, seemingly more loyal to their organisation than the others.

The Chimera sent another shockwave towards the remaining troops, Yang easily dodging alongside a single operative, the rest were blown right off their feet and subsequently trampled by the beast as it begun to charge around in a fit of rage. _Well they were useful… _thought Yang with a roll of her eyes before she took to firing shot after shot at the still rampaging beast. As it got closer Yang flared her aura, with it came a literal flare of her body as she sped out the way, a small trail of fire in her wake. Ruby vocalised her awe at Yang's rarely used agility before charging forward herself, the scythe retracting into gun form as she opened fire.

Having finished off the remaining droids Blake and Weiss soon joined the fray each firing off a barrage of their own ammunition into the Chimera which was dashing between Ruby and Yang in a state of confusion. Blake could've sworn she heard a rifle in the distance but shrugged it off as she continued aiming for the Grimm hybrid's eyes.

Yang dodged away from the beast again, the poor thing seemingly surrounded and helpless as it thrashed around. The sight of the White Fang soldier from earlier dashing towards the base's wreckage caught her eye as she loosed another pair of rounds into the monster. "We have to stop him!" she heard motioning over to the assumedly Faunus criminal. Almost immediately the Chimera's stinger slammed into him, the White Fang operative impaled. "That works." She said nonchalantly as Ruby flinched at the sight, Weiss also seemingly looking slightly nauseated.

Recovering quickly the duo charged towards the Chimera. The Chimera in response sent out a shockwave, easily being avoided by the more agile fighters whilst it smashed its stinger into the ground, the body that was impaled on it coming loose and dropping from it. Next it swung it's stinger at the closing in Ruby, attempting to squash the young girl only for Blake to appear and sweep her to safety as Weiss's rapier penetrated the ground and ice emerged from its tip, freezing the stinger in place. It's only real attack neutralised the group fell in, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang easily overwhelming the potentially formidable beast. Their attacks seemed to do damage, just not enough, Grimm don't bleed out quickly. Then Weiss heard the sound of a beam charging. _I forgot about that… _she thought before forming a glyph above Blake, the black-haired woman jumping to safety upon hearing the blast behind her, the beam passing harmlessly beneath her and burning through the Chimera, finally finishing it off.

Jumping to the ground Blake panted. "Okay… it is official… those things" she pointed her head towards the still active Spider Droid "hate me." She heard Ruby giggle in response and turned to look at her. "What's so funny?" she asked, a little on edge.

"The notion that anyone could hate you…" Ruby responded innocently earning a blush from Blake and an "Oh god…" from Weiss before giving her winter-themed combat partner a sly smirk.

"You did that on purpose didn't you?" Weiss asked, her eyes narrowing as she focussed on Ruby. The red-haired girl nodded happily in response. "I should probably tell daddy that the security androids he ordered are ineffective." She said idly, getting amused looks from Yang and Blake. _Oh god, they're going to hold that against me, aren't they? _She thought to herself after noticing how she referred to her father.

A low gargle came from near the Chimera's corpse, the group finally being brought back to the task at hand. Ruby was over there in the blink of an eye "He's still alive." She noted, going a little pale in the face upon seeing the hole in his chest. Blake and Weiss both took mental notes of that.

Yang arriving a split second later looked at the guy. "Light 1, we need evac for a wounded enemy operative, he needs immediate medical attention, we aren't going to get anything out of him here."

A low voice came over the scroll. "Negative Ruby 4, detecting two heat signatures in your area, one has explosives; I can't risk it."

"Damnit!" cursed Yang loudly as the operative continued to struggle for life. "I'm sorry." she said to the dying Faunus before turning to face the base. "Whatever was in there he was going to get it.

"With a bit of luck we may come out of this with more than just an interesting story to tell." Blake said seriously as she took in the Chimera corpse, memorising every detail from the single wing to the imperfect horns and the weakened Deathstalker tail. _Very interesting indeed _she thought before noticing Ruby looked over at her. "What is it?"

"Do you think it's him?"

"Who else would it be?"

* * *

Getting inside the burning wreckage proved significantly simpler than actually traversing it as they found collapsed corridor upon collapsed corridor forcing them to take short cut after short cut until they finally reached what they hoped was a functioning computer with the information they were looking for. First though they had to deal with the mad hatter.

"Monster outside, must inform Cinder. Cinder wants update. No, no, update can wait, need to back up data first, no telling what's going on out there." The strange man paused for a second, his hand rising into the air. "Aha! Yes if I re-route power from the non-essential-" he stopped himself, shaking his head. "Stupid! Stupid! None of the systems are essential and there is no power to re-route. Think Rogers, think!"

Team RWBY watched on, perplexed at the insane man still working at the computer seemingly completely unaware of the flames around him, but entirely aware of the fact that the base had been reduced to rubble. "Are you" Yang paused for a moment trying to find the right words "okay?"

"Smooth…" muttered Blake as the man stopped in his tracks, finally aware of the presence of four other bodies in the room.

"You're here to kill me aren't you?" he asked.

Yang was taken aback, unsure of how to respond as Weiss stepped forward. "No, why would we be-" before she was cut off by the maniacal man.

"It was not you I was referring to…"

* * *

**A/N: **Gah! Cliff hangers, this is slowly become RvB with a dramatic ending to every chapter! To quote Pyrrha "I'm sorry."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Those Who Came**

"You're here to kill me aren't you?" he asked, he still hadn't even looked away from the mess of data on his screen as he spoke, his voice slower, his behaviour less frantic than before, a seeming calm having washed over him upon hearing Yang's voice.

Yang herself was taken aback, unsure of how to respond as Weiss stepped forward. "No, why would we be-"

"It was not you I was referring to…" he said coolly, his voice taking an almost melodic, soothing tone as his gaze shifted slightly from the four girls to something just off in the distance behind them. He gave a slight nod in the direction.

Team RWBY glanced amongst each other nervously, Blake trying her best to read the man's strange behaviour. _He's either gone completely insane or-_ A single shot rang out, a rocket whistling past the quartet and exploding next to the scientist, the explosion threw him to the ground next to his equipment, a cough escaping his throat, the explosion slightly charring his body as blood poured down his shrapnel embedded arm. The machine sparked slightly, not escaping damage from the explosion, Blake could hear Weiss gulp as what they assumed was the information they needed threatened destruction.

_Or that… _another shot rang out, another rocket whistled past the four ladies of Team RWBY, this time it impacted with the machine itself, a small explosion erupting, more sparks flying as a fire began to burn over the equipment, the scientist crawling his way over to the apparatus, awaiting the last spark before the computer itself exploded, the likely faunus agent was propelled forward by the blast, the burning remnants of a corpse landing closer to Blake and her team than it did to the machine that was now just another piece of destruction resulting from the day's events.

Blake gritted her teeth, her body stiffening and her expression contorting into one of rage, she never did get the chance to do something good for the White Fang, to make things right for abandoning them; if she did he wouldn't be here right now. "Hello Red." _Of course it was him. _Blake spared a glance to her equally tense partner, Ruby was already gripping Crescent Rose seemingly ready to fire it at any given moment, her guard constantly up as it had to be when dealing with such scum; Blake could feel his eyes burning a hole through her, a desire to finish the job no doubt on his mind. "Little lady…" Blake's eyes closed as she took a deep breath, exhaling loudly, _only one person had ever called her that:_

"Roman..." she muttered through gritted teeth, the rage boiling within her at the human puppeteer of the White Fang, the man could have and would have killed her, Ruby and Sun for Blake's own lack of control, her own short fuse, she risked and almost lost everything and looking back she wasn't sure exactly what for. The group turned collectively to face their saboteur Ruby and Blake glancing at the face of Roman Torchwick for the first time since the Vale Port heist, Weiss and Yang laying eyes upon the criminal in the flesh for the first time ever.

A wry smile crossed his ever-confident face, his demeanour surprisingly relaxed for a guy staring down four huntresses-in-training. "So, who are your friends?" he said, sparing short glances to the white and blonde haired girls, his eyes making a short scan of their physique and posture before momentarily settling on their weapons.

Violet eyes narrowed as the blonde took in the features of the notorious criminal, the TV really didn't do him justice. His calm demeanour was unnerving, his face seemingly frozen in a mocking, arrogant expression, his hand constantly gripping his weapon of choice, a finger never leaving the trigger. "Yang." She finally relinquished to man whom got his kicks off of boosting his bounty as high as possible, finally making the link between Torchwick and Junior. _I HAVE seen him before… maybe he knows something about- no Yang this isn't the time for that._

Weiss who had remained still the entire time, keeping a hand on her weapon, her eyes locked to Torchwick's own finally let herself soften "Ms. Weiss Schnee." giving a formal introduction as she had been conditioned to do ever since she spoke her first words. The redheaded man in the white suit and tie just laughed a quiet, brief, sardonic laugh.

"I see this one has manners." He spoke, that droll, uncaring tone embedded in his voice. "You see little lady" he turned back to face Blake "THAT is how you say hello, you don't stick a blade to someone's throat and threaten to kill them… Also notice that she's not on her knees right now, something to consider in the future." The Faunus's resolve weakened slightly, she couldn't let this opportunist see her doubt and yet still she found herself wondering: _"In the future" why is he so sure that there will be a next time…_ Blake muscles relaxed slightly, enough for her hands to reach back and grip Gambol Shroud. Torchwick raised an eye brow, another mocking laugh.

"What are you doing here?" Blake finally asked, venom evident in her voice, a near threatening, commanding tone escaping her lips as the sound of a blade leaving its sheath screeching through the air. His response was once again mocking, causing a noticeable spike in Blake's anger levels.

"Actually little lady, you may notice that I was invited here, I have official business with White Fang. It is you who is breaking the law." He said pointedly before his head slightly bounced left and right a few times as if surrendering to an unspoken argument. "Okay, sure I killed that guy, but you're still breaking, entering, vandalising and attempting to steal information that you do not need to nor deserve to know."

"The White Fang made themselves an enemy of Beacon, they had to be expecting us to strike back sooner or later…" interrupted Weiss.

Torchwick shot her a menacing look "Can it, ice princess" he said scornfully before turning back to Blake. "I was wrong, she doesn't have manners, and she wonders why no one bothers even trying to help her or her pathetic father." Weiss broke, pulling out Myrtenaster and dashing towards the criminal, Roman gave another confident smirk before raising his cane and pulling the trigger. Weiss, brain clouded with fury and hatred failed to see the rocket shell, the explosive crashing into her and the resultant explosion blasting her backwards, stopping her assault dead.

He peered up again at the petals now falling around Yang and Blake as Weiss hit the ground at their feet. His posture never changed, even with Ruby behind him, bolt pulled, round loaded and crosshairs aimed at the back of his head. Instead his near porcelain lips once more broke into an arrogant smile "Big mistake Red."

As quickly as Ruby had appeared behind Roman, a man appeared behind Ruby, a radiant, blood-red blade placed at her throat, the redhead freezing for fear of what may result from any attempts to struggle. The emotions that flashed through Blake's mind were jumbled, incoherent and at times nonsensical. Shock that Adam was actually stood before her, panic because Ruby was being held at knifepoint, strife as all her sins came back to haunt her one by one, relief that she once again laid eyes upon the only man she'd ever let herself get close to, regret that she had let this happen, hatred that he broke his promise, rage because he currently held her loved one's life in his unforgiving and all too willing hands. That last one was the strongest, that last one was the one that broke her.

Blake sprinted forward, tears flowing down her face as she shadow jumped to the side; her clone taking the round meant for Yang and then used her semblance once more to avoid Roman. Adam's eyes narrowed beneath his mask, he could sense the love Blake had for the girl he held in his arms. _She deserves at least this, for now. _He thought to himself, dropping his blade and pushing Ruby away as Blake reached her former White Fang teammate.

Ruby rolled out the way her scythe at the ready as she and Weiss sped towards Adam. Roman didn't even make a move as the white-haired heiress flew past him. "NO HE'S MINE!" Blake shouted upon seeing Ruby and Weiss mere feet away, her former guardian sheathed his ninjatō, taking his stance as Blake squared up to him.

"That is not a good idea little lady…" Roman hummed half-heartedly as the girl prepared to fight her closest connection not named Ruby. Hey eyes narrowed on him and her posture stiffened slightly, the raven-haired rogue waiting patiently for him to make the first move, that wait allowing the doubt to creep into her mind. Her eyes broke from Adam's and glanced back at Roman before darting almost immediately back.

"Why?" spat Blake, her eyes now trained on Adam's hands, one gripping Blush and the other the hilt of Wilt, she gulped down the fear that attempted to overpower the rage, shaking slightly, almost unnoticeably.

Roman was now turned away from Yang and staring intently at Weiss and Ruby, the mocking look on his face finally removed as he attempted to rein in the situation he'd caused, they were on a clock after all. "Because Adam isn't your problem." he said with a smirk as they heard a light ticking. "You've already lost, you're problem is getting out intact. I'm sure we would all like that now, wouldn't we?"

Blake thought about it for a moment, had she been alone she may have indeed tried to bring down Adam and Roman, or at the very least stall them so that their own bomb does it for her. There would be no consequences she was unwilling to accept, besides maybe the killing of the man who had watched over her since she was five.

But this was not that situation, Blake had Ruby to love and Yang and Weiss to forever stand by her side, this was different, and that was the only reason she dropped her arms, her blade falling towards the floor but not leaving her grip. Tears were still pouring as she pulled off her bow, looking up into what she knew were Adam's once beautiful, now cold and hidden eyes. "Why?" she choked out, Adam taking a step back, his own hand falling away from the hilt of his blade, the powerful weapon falling to his side.

"It's just business Blake…" a slight tone of regret and guilt was evident in his voice, and Blake knew; as much as Adam would kill her, and all those she'd recently learned to hold close; as little compassion as Adam had for the safety and well-being of humanity; this was not a fight he wanted to fight, at least not on this day.

"No Adam, "it" is time we were leaving, our business here is done…" called Roman, as the human walked past the cold-blooded sword-wielder. Adam tensed slightly at Roman's close proximity, Blake took note of that: _even the White Fang refuses to let their guard down around this psychopath. _

Roman paused at a corner turning back to the unmoving Adam. "Well, let's get a move on, we haven't got all day…" Blake's eyes narrowed and she could feel the rage building once more as she heard Roman mutter something under his breath about Adam and Faunus in general.

Adam looked back to the waiting Roman and then back to Blake. "I'm sorry." he whispered before turning his back and following Roman.

Blake now stood there alone; shaking some more as Ruby rushed to her side and took her into a hug, Blake's wet face pressing into her girlfriend's combat skirt. Blake stood there, finding comfort in Ruby's embrace and letting a few more tears flow as Weiss and Yang approached.

Had it been any other time, any other person, Weiss might just have shrugged this off, but something about the exchange irked her and she had to know. "Who was that?" she asked, getting no response she tried again "Blake, who's Adam?"

Blake finally looked up from Ruby, sniffling, her face red with anger and her eyes puffy and reddened from crying, countless streaks of wetness coating her usually beautiful, pale complexion. "That was Adam; he was practically my brother for ten years…"

_Goddamnit _Weiss exclaimed inwardly _well that hardly helped. _Remembering the bomb Weiss decided this wasn't the place for continuing this conversation. "We have to go…"

Ruby nodded before disentwining herself from her partner, Blake wiping away what remained of her tears. Pulling out her scroll Ruby called up the jet. "Light 1, this is Ruby 1, the uh… other two guys, are leaving the area, they planted a bomb and we need immediate extraction."

A small amount of static was heard before they got a response "Roger that Ruby 1, coming in now." They had already began making their way out of the complex and crumbled structure by the time the call ended, arriving outside just as the Bullhead approached. "Uh… Team RWBY? I am not landing near that thing…"

Ruby's attention was finally brought to the Spider Droid. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that..." She pulled back her rifle and load another magazine of cross-clips into it, the high-power rifle combined with such innately powerful rounds propelled her forwards at insane speeds, the rifle and her semblance building her momentum as she neared the cannon of the downed droid before finally twirling in mid-air and slicing through the droid's cannon, putting the Spider Droid out of commission for good.

Blake looked on at her leader's work, only now did it dawn on her just how tough the Deathstalker's armour was upon seeing Crescent Rose slice through such a robot with ease. "Okay, coming down now, how much time's left?"

The four ladies all exchanged unknowing, nervous looks, everyone seemingly assuming someone else would bother to look. "Umm… We may have sorta, kinda, forgotten to look…" mumbled Ruby. They couldn't see their pilot's face but they could hear a short sigh followed a small laugh.

"Well hop on and strap in, you guys are in for a bumpy ride until that bomb DOES go off."

"Gee thanks…" muttered Yang as the crew clambered onto the Bullhead and the jet took off.

* * *

Arriving back at Beacon the team began to disembark, Ruby practically jumped out like an excited child, rushing over to the waiting Team JNPR and proceeding to ensure that they couldn't understand a word of what she said. _She really needs to learn when to slow it down _Blake observed as she departed the jet, Weiss by her side. Yang was the last one out, followed by the pilot of course.

"Just call me Carol, I hate those damned names…" the pilot said as she caught up to Yang who just looked on a little confused for a moment at a pilot actually socialising.

_Okay Yang, now THAT is just silly, just because some of the pilots insist on being jerks doesn't mean all of them are so anti-social… _she scalded herself before putting on another smile. "I'm Yang."

"That's a nice name."

* * *

Blake and Weiss were now ahead of their team, Ruby and Yang hanging back for a short while to converse with friends despite knowing that Ozpin wanted an immediate debriefing. "This is exactly why this school lacks discipline, Ozpin's too laid back, if he came down harder on Cardin or others then there'd be no bullying. If he actually shouted at Ruby for being late to a DEBRIEFING then-"

"Then Yang would burn his office to the ground, and I'd gladly supply some fuel." Blake deadpanned pointedly as the duo walked the spacious and empty halls of the academy. _One of the many benefits to weekend jobs… _Blake thought, she may have been getting increasingly comfortable around her teammates, but she still couldn't really be bothered putting an effort in with the majority of Beacon's attendees.

"So Blake, this Adam guy…" Weiss was watching Blake's reactions, nothing quite like the breakdown she had upon seeing him, but from her body language it was definitely clear to Weiss that this was a sensitive topic, well that was already clear, it just never made her think twice about asking until now. "You don't have to." She appended comfortingly, Blake once again relaxing as she remembered who she was actually speaking with.

_I can trust Weiss, she's my friend, and she deserves to know this… _"No it's okay, really." She said scanning the environment to make sure they were alone whilst thinking over where would be the best place to begin. "They told me my mother died during child birth, that my father was forced to give me up because he was deemed unfit due to the emotional trauma of her death. I as a result was shipped off to a care home, it was nice enough, but the other kids were… insensitive when it came to their behaviour, they just didn't know exactly how wrong what they were doing was."

Weiss was listening intently, just waiting patiently for Blake to tell her story. "I'm assuming Ruby told you this already." Blake off-handedly commented before continuing. "Soon the White Fang decided to target care homes, education systems, anything that could potentially harm Faunus children, they arrived at mine to make sure that the home was good enough to its Faunus inhabitants. They were at least satisfied but the man who had visited took a liking to me. That was the first time anyone gave me an endearing name. "it's okay Pumpkin, I got you…" he said, the next thing I know I'm being treated like a princess by the White Fang, which wasn't actually too surprising, they were kind people back then, and I wasn't the first. Adam was."

"Huh…" Weiss said, her only contribution as she continued listening, the duo finally reaching the end of a corridors and heading outside into the courtyard. Blake almost immediately quietened, too withdrawn and private to risk anyone hearing them out here. The likelihood of kids hanging around in Oobleck's history class was slim in comparison to the chance that people were loitering by the statue. Weiss again just waited, not pushing the conversation anywhere as they turned into the main building.

Blake waited a short while after passing the reception area before finally speaking again. "Adam was like a brother, he welcomed me with open arms, showed me around what was White Fang headquarters, stood by my side during every protest, defended me from human children on the street and, when he deemed me old enough, he showed me his weapon."

A crack appeared in Weiss's calm and collected exterior as she stifled a laugh. "Oh God, you're so fortunate Yang isn't here right now."

Blake scoffed. "Dear lord, even you found that rude? For shame Weiss…" she said humorously. "I meant his ninjatō, he never told me how he got it, just specified that it was definitely his. When peaceful protests originally began breaking down on the human side it was he who trained me, the first weapon I ever used was his ninjatō, no surprise that the first weapon I forged was a katana."

"Wait you forged Gambol Shroud?"

"No, that was a gift from the White Fang themselves, but Adam decided at least teach me how to create my own weapon, still have no idea how he knew. I only designed Gambol Shroud." The black-haired girl explained.

"Practise probably." Weiss speculated on Adam's knowledge. "I designed Myrtenaster but father wouldn't allow me to start looking at blacksmithing, too unladylike apparently…"

As much as Blake would have loved to bring up the whole "daddy" thing right now, she decided against, no point in judging a man she'd never actually met and she was still a little scared of any confrontation she got into with Weiss. "So basically everything I have I owe to the old leader of the White Fang, the man who took me in all those years ago, and to Adam."

Weiss had pretty much heard everything she needed to hear, but there was still one thing in the back of her mind grating on her. _Goddamnit Blake; making me actually care about you… _"Back at the base, you asked him "Why?" why what?"

Blake got a little less comfortable, a little bit tenser as she thought about whether or not to answer the question. _She deserves to know, I can't keep anything else from her… She deserves better than that. _"Adam was there when I first fled from the White Fang, he let me go. They sent HIM after me of all people, psychological warfare I guess. Adam was a kind man at heart, but he was fiercely loyal and had become a little jaded over time as he watched the confrontation between the humans and faunus evolve before his very eyes. He found me, but that was expected, he was better than me after all, what came after wasn't. He handed me some papers and promised me he'd tell them he failed, that he would never search for me again, and he never did, today was the first time I'd seen him in over 5 years. He's the reason why I'm here..."

The duo came to a halt just outside of Ozpin's office where they waited for Ruby and Yang. Weiss, who had been walking in near silence by Blake's side finally spoke up. "It sounds like Adam changed for the worse…" _Okay, that was just absolutely tactless, you dunce._ She scalded herself quietly before Blake ripped her from her own guilt-ridden thoughts.

"Yeah he did, but I'm sure you'd have liked the person he used to be…"

Weiss bowed her head slightly, eyes closed with a small smile on her face. "I'm sure I would have." She gazed back down the corridor to the way they came, _still no sign of Ruby or Yang. _"Where are those two dolts?"

"Don't call my girlfriend a dolt…"

Weiss's peered at Blake with half-lidded, scrutinising eyes. "But it's okay to insult her sister?"

A smirk crossed Blake's face. "Is her sister my girlfriend?"

"No."

"Then there you go."

"Talk about double standards…"


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **This chapter is a fluff chapter. Anybody who is not here for Ladybug can skip this if they want to, it doesn't accomplish anything plot-wise and just furthers the relationship between Blake and Ruby, there is a small amount of Weiss/Yang as well but not much.

**Chapter 8: Black Rose**

Blake was more than a little nervous, pacing back and forth in Team RWBY's dorm room whilst firing off an endless barrage of questions at Weiss that the youthful ivory woman also didn't have the answers to. "Do you think Ruby will arrange for us to go somewhere formal? Should I take enough money for something like ice-skating? Will she be expecting me to pay for the meal? Should I wear my black dress? I hate dresses..."

Weiss groaned, her fingers pressed to her temple _how could Blake, the most collected person she knew outside of her own family, be more stressed out over a date than she was over the Deathstalker and Nevermore attempting to slaughter them during initiation? _"If you don't like wearing dresses then don't wear a dress…" she finally said.

"But what if we go somewhere fancy? I don't exactly have a suit and none of us packed much aside from school uniforms, combat gear and sleepwear." Weiss found Blake's behaviour strange. It was so out of character, but then again so was Blake dating Ruby in the first place. It was also rather grating.

"I don't know Blake, I'm sure she's probably thinking the same thing though…"

Blake settled for a minute before starting again. "Yeah but she's over there with Yang, Pyrrha and Nora… That's two extra minds… Okay one mind and one Nora…"

A frustrated sigh escaped Weiss _I can't stand this version of Blake… _"You've got to be kidding me…" she said exhausted by Blake's anxious worrying and constant questions before noticing the clock. "Um, Blake, isn't your date starting at five?"

Blake paused again. "Yeah." she confirmed looking at her quizzically "Why?"

Weiss pointed to the analogue clock behind the standing towel-glad brunette, the hands ticking away "Because it's four, fifty now."

Blake's eyes darted to the clock and then back at Weiss. "Why didn't you tell me sooner!? I'm not even dressed yet!"

Weiss rolled her eyes, _this better not become a common occurrence _she put on her straightest face and spoke soothingly, she wasn't sure why but she assumed it would help "Blake, just calm down, I'm sure she won't mind if you show up in your combat gear, she's just as new to this as you are" _And she'll literally be doing this same thing right across the hall, only annoying more people while doing so…_ "It's why she called dibs on Yang… Now go put some damn clothes on!"

Blake had already disappeared into the bathroom and came out moments later in her fighting clothes, the skin-tight clothing hugging her form as a steady rapping was heard on the door. "You're date's here… good luck." Weiss called as Blake took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Hi."

"Hi."

_Well that was underwhelming _thought Weiss as the duo headed out, Yang crashing through the slowly closing door, much to the surprise of the heiress. Recollecting herself Weiss began to speak, not even greeting her "Gotta say, I'm a little disappointed, I was expected something a little more… awkward from the two, or more ostentatious from Ruby, either or. Talk about a let-down."

Yang had finally stumbled back to her feet, her breathing heavy after slightly winding herself. "Oh you know how it is…" she noted casually.

"No, actually I don't. Why did they even need to do the whole "Ruby picking Blake up" thing?" Weiss questioned curiously even though she knew Yang was also clueless as to Ruby's logic. As expected she got a shrug.

"I don't know, you know how Ruby is though, just go with it."

"I did, and I got a distressed and irrational Blake as my reward…" Weiss replied, a slight tone of half-serious complaining in her voice as she spoke. "You'd definitely have enjoyed it." she off-handedly added as Yang took a seat on Blake's bed. The heiress found herself staring at Yang, taking in her features in search of… something. She wasn't sure what she was looking for but she felt obligated to ask, slightly concerned for her usually annoying teammate "How are you handling all of this?"

Yang looked up, shrugged and waved her hand in the air absently. "I'm fine, just taking a little time to get used to it. I'm happy for them." Weiss was looking at her slightly sceptically. "Really, I'm fine, it's Blake you should be worried about, I don't remember Ruby ever having to organise a date…"

* * *

Blake eyed up Ruby immediately, breathing a sigh of relief upon seeing Ruby wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt with a wolf head on the front, they weren't combat clothes, but at least it wasn't an evening dress or swimwear. After exchanging pleasantries the duo proceeded to walk in blissful silence towards the hover jets; Carol was going to be their chauffeur to and from the city itself.

The silence was broken once they arrived at the vehicle, Carol giving a friendly nod before climbing into the cockpit. Ruby pulled open the Bullhead's door and took the gentleman role. "You're ride is here." She said chivalrously with a grin.

Blake smiled, rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Who needs horse and carriage when you have the obnoxiously loud Bullhead, unsurpassed in romantic scene setting capabilities?" Blake deadpanned, misreading the situation as Ruby began to panic.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I screw up? Ijustwantedittobe-"

Blake held a finger up to Ruby's lips, the redhead's rushed and unintelligible panicking being muffled slightly before she slowly stopped herself from speaking, a caring smile on Blake's face. Once Ruby had calmed slightly she spoke with a warm and comforting voice "Relax, I was only kidding."

Ruby's mouth formed an 'o' shape as realisation dawned in. "Oh…"

Blake let out a single quiet chuckle. "Now come on our ride's waiting, and you're picking up the waiting fee…"

* * *

A few minutes later and they were exchanging awkward looks as they made their way to Vale's City Centre, neither really knew what to say as Ruby began poking her fingers together before scooted forward to the edge of her seat, reaching beneath it and producing a small bag. "So… I got you something…" she said sheepishly before handing over the bag, a rectangular, wrapped gift within.

"Ruby, you didn't have to…" Blake began as she accepted the bag and pulled out the present.

"I know." Ruby cut her off as the sound of paper tearing was heard, Blake's eyes widened slightly upon seeing the gift. Pollination: Volume 4, a compilation of comedic yuri stories following a squad of huntresses, one of few pieces of satirical literature she found herself enjoying.

"How did you? I've been looking for this since it came out…" Blake said gratefully, getting a little excited.

"You'd be surprised what I can find." Ruby said dramatically, earning a laugh from Blake. "Liiike" She said, elongating the word in an attempt to build suspense as she reached underneath her seat once more "this." Finally producing a second gift, this was unwrapped. Upon seeing the title Blake's face reddened, the Faunus blushing heavily.

"Ninjas of Love: Space Samurai?" Blake asked slowly and hesitantly, trying to mask her embarrassment. Ruby just nodded with a demonic smirk across her face, Blake's face now the same colour as Ruby's namesake gemstone. Blake gulped before taking the second book. "How did you even buy this? You're 15!" she finally asked, unsure of what else to say upon finding out that her partner already knew of her guilty pleasure. Ruby just shrugged, still wearing that grin as she drunk in the sight of Blake's crimson complexion.

Finally seeing the red drain back to white Ruby decided to further push Blake "So… gay ninjas, huh?" she said casually, grin still there as Blake's face reddened once more. "I thought you liked girls?" The embarrassment was slowly transitioning to anger, which was melting away at the adorable, evil expression on Ruby's face.

All Blake could do was put on a pathetic attempt at a scowl and flatten her cat ears against her head, the bow wrinkling slightly as she did so; the result was unfortunately more cute than threatening or guilt inducing. "I hate you…"

Ruby's smile never faltered, her tone still cheery as she checked out the window. "No you don't." The evening was beautiful, the sky already beginning to darken as the time of year demanded it, street lamps were wastefully lit to brighten the not yet dark roads and streets and the ground was busy with the last of the shoppers and the workers, and likely a few people like Ruby and Blake rushing past one another. "You may want to fix your bow." She said absently motioning to the crumpled fabric sitting atop Blake's head.

The Faunus had withdrawn herself a little, embarrassed at finding out that Ruby knew of her smut novels. Finally noticing the cloth that was coming undone on her head she straightened up a bit, messing about with the black ribbon that served as her guard from a world full of hatred and disdain. "Come on, we're here."

* * *

Blake was pulled off-balance as the ship landed and Ruby practically hauled her off the jet, giving a parting wave to their pilot who just shook her head in response, feeling a little sorry for Blake. Pulling herself free Blake brushed herself off _She's really going to be a handful… but I already knew that… _she thought to herself as she followed Ruby to a small little restaurant down a forgotten side street "The Rose Dragon". It was a nice name and Blake felt at ease as Ruby escorted her through the entrance allowing Blake to see that it wasn't a formal place.

The duo sat down and ordered their food before proceeding to make small-talk whilst they waited, Blake picking at a small slice of bread whilst Ruby sipped on complimentary water.

"Yang used to bring me here every day after school. I don't how she afforded it on a near daily basis but it basically became our food supply." Ruby explained as Blake enquired about how Ruby found such a place, the answer brought up a few more questions that Blake wasn't sure Ruby wanted to answer. Still her curiosity got the better of her.

"Where were your parents?" she asked, studying Ruby's face, a small frown appearing on the adorable girl's cute face.

"Mom's not around anymore. Dad tried to cook but he wasn't much of a chef, nor was he always around in the evenings. He'd eat at work and Yang would treat me to a nice meal. We did have family meals on the weekend, dad insisting on learning how to cook a chicken curry and a beef dinner." Ruby, had started to stare at the table as she spoke, the sadness evident in her voice.

"Oh…" was all Blake could say initially as she scoured her brain for something else. "Your sister's very sweet."

"Yeah she is…" Ruby replied, still not back to her usual self.

"Annoying..." Blake continued before adding again "but sweet."

Ruby let a single silent chuckle escape before looking up again. "You get used to it though. Dad was pretty great too. He was always working to make sure we could afford to live a good life." A light smile finally crossed her face, her features immediately being improved with that weaponisable grin slowly spreading. "When he was around he'd wrestle with Yang, and lose, he'd dance with me to terrible music and he'd just sit and listen to mine or Yang's boring rambling about whatever it was we were excited about at the time, usually weapons for me and bikes for Yang…"

"Lucky dad." Blake said "What I'd give to get the chance to punch Yang…" a wry smirk crossing her own face now before their attention was pulled to the waiter arriving with plates, a pan-seared salmon for Blake with a portion of chips and a light salad and four pounds of steak for Ruby. Blake's eyes widened once more upon seeing the hefty amount of meat being placed in front of her dark red haired girlfriend. Ruby licked her lips before digging in, seemingly forgetting Blake's presence for a moment. Blake just continued to stare incredulously as Ruby wolfed down the first pound. _How on Remnant does anyone do that?_

Finally noticing Blake's stare Ruby nervously gulped down another bite, her face twisting a little as she inwardly speculated on the black beauty's surprised look. "Do you find it weird that I eat meat?" she asked it dawning on her of the first time that she'd never actually seen the cat Faunus eat any meat or poultry, only fish.

The question snapped Blake out of her own thoughts as she shook her head. "No, why would I?"

Ruby looked down, her toe stabbing the ground as her fingers poked together. "I don't know, because you're a Faunus?"

Blake raised an eye brow at her date and shook her head again. "You're an animal too you know? Faunus don't have innately vegetarian tastes, we're just like humans in that way, one of our many similarities. I found it weird that you just gulped down enough steak to feed two people in less than a minute…"

"Oh." Ruby said, looking down at her already half-empty plate, blushing slightly at Blake's scrutiny. "I guess I'm hungry and haven't been here in a while. The steak is GREAT." Blake shook her head again still in disbelief but let it drop so she could enjoy her own meal before it cooled any more. Conversation dried up for a few minutes as Ruby demolished what remained of her steak and Blake slowly made her way through her fish.

Blake was only half-way done by the time Ruby's plate had been collected, earning a judgmental look from the waiter which she ignored _new guy…_ it didn't take long for Ruby to slowly grow bored of waiting for her date who was now audibly enjoying her own meal.

"The salmon's nice too." Blake noted. Ruby was taking the moment to take in Blake's appearance for the umpteenth time still managing to get lost in her beautiful golden orbs and still nigh-on incapable of reading Blake's porcelain face unless Blake wanted her to.

"So…" Ruby began, now busying herself with spying around the establishment for entertainment whilst purposefully avoiding eye contact with her partner "you ever done this before?"

Blake looked up at Ruby, clearly finding the choice of conversation odd. "Actually no, this is my first date." she admitted, not entirely sure why she was nervous about this. "Why? Have you?"

"Twice." Ruby announced a little shyly. "I've never had to plan a date before though…" Blake had flushed slightly, her second set of ears flattening against her head for the second time that evening, surprised and a little embarrassed that Ruby had more experience than her despite being two years younger, somehow picking at her salmon even slower than before.

"Are you-?"

"Embarrassed? Yes..."

* * *

A short while later and the duo departed the nice little restaurant, an hour or so had passed and the darkness now warranted the street lights. "It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" Blake declared staring up at the now navy blue sky, a few stray white clouds and a couple of early stars dotting the dark canvas.

Ruby glanced at the sky, noticing the beautiful stars and the swaying clouds for the first time. "Huh, I guess I never really thought about it." She shivered at the cold chill that came with the otherwise beautiful night. "Could do without the cold though…"

Almost as if she was expecting it Blake pulled out Ruby's spare red cloak, from where Ruby had no idea but she wasn't complaining as Blake wrapped the cloak around the redhead before hugging slightly against the soft, velvety fabric. "Are you not cold too?" Ruby quizzed.

"Not really, the cold's just something I've always been used to." Blake's sentence trailed off towards the end, her gaze following something in the alley they had walked passed. Ruby, who hadn't seen Blake's staring at the alley was a little nonplussed at Blake's next question. "Could you go on ahead? I just got something I need to check on very quickly, I'll catch up."

Ruby gave her an apprehensive look, still concerned over her partner's behaviour on their date; she just couldn't find a logical reason why anyone would leave in the middle of such a thing, at least not for only a few minutes. After waiting for a reaction and getting none Blake added a "Please?" almost pleadingly.

Ruby finally nodded "I'll wait for you in the industrial district." she said before giving Blake a peck on the cheek and walking ahead, Blake blushing at the unexpected display before turning her attention to the alleyway.

* * *

Ruby groaned worryingly as she looked back the way she came. _It's been ten minutes, where could she be? _The juvenile girl's mind began to wander slightly as the cold air bit into her once more, pulling her cloak around her as she sat atop a wall just waiting for the raven-haired cat Faunus that had her mind running overtime almost constantly as of late. Her thoughts now however were far less tranquil.

_What if she stood me up in the middle of the date? Maybe I pushed it too far with the Ninjas of Love thing. What would happen between us if she did? I don't think I could face the humiliation… Maybe she's just gone to get me a gift. Does that make sense? She doesn't seem like the type to really care about such artificial things, even if she can appreciate them._ Another thought silenced all the others, the colour draining from the already pale girl's face as contorted into that of panic. _What if something has happened to her? What if she's in hospital? Or, or a ditch somewhere?_

"Miss me?"

Ruby jump out of her skin and fell off the low wall she was sat on, Blake laughed for a few seconds until she heard the young girl crash to the floor. "Ow!" she squealed before getting up and dusting herself off, Blake's face now one of concern as she approached Ruby, checking over every visible part of her body. _Just a few grazes, thank God. _

"I'm so sorry, thank God you're alright!" she said before Ruby pushed her away, fear ran through the Faunus as she looked on at her partner, the younger redhead pointing her finger at her pointedly as she scalded the older girl.

"Don't EVER do that again!" she scowled with a hushed shouted before walking up to Blake and wrapping her arms around her. "I'm so glad you're okay…" she whispered as she squeezed the mysterious woman she fell in love with. Blake hugged her back, still a little uncomfortable doing so in public.

"Of course I am..." She said soothingly feeling Ruby's embrace tightening to the point where Blake was struggling to breath. Forcing a break Blake looked at Ruby quizzically. "What brought this on?"

Ruby got a little sheepish and nervous as she realised how irrational she had been earlier. "Oh I was waiting for you and, I started getting worried and all kinds of thoughts crossed my minds and I thought you may have been hurt and Idon'twhatIwouldhavedoneifanythinghappenedtoyou."

Blake blinked twice, she wasn't sure what she had actually heard but she got the gist of what Ruby was rambling about in embarrassed shyness. The thought that Ruby worried so much about her warmed her insides a little; the realisation that she made Ruby worry so unnecessarily caused her to feel a pang of guilt. "I guess I could have made that a little less cryptic and dramatic." she apologised before reaching behind her back "I got you this." She said pulling out a small box.

_I swear that outfit has no pockets… where does she keep pulling these things from…_

"It's just a novelty music box, something to listen to when Yang and I aren't there."

Ruby smiled accepting the miniature music box.

"So… last I checked this date is still going on, where to next?" Blake asked.

Ruby nodded towards the factory they were stood in front of "Here, actually." Blake's eyes studied the facility confused, completely dumbfounded as to how a motorbike manufacturing facility fit into the date paradigm. "We do need to kind of break in though." Ruby added, Blake's head snapping back to Ruby, the confusion growing.

* * *

It didn't actually take that long, nor was it overly difficult, Ruby did regret wearing jeans when she knew she'd be climbing but overall the facility was quite easy to sneak into. A window was open two stories up that was ideal for what Ruby came here to show Blake, security was lax thanks to the building being situated in the middle of Vale's most heavily patrolled area and the security cameras were of no consequence to the two huntresses in training, especially when Ruby had Blake, whom could easily make a living as a cat burglar if she wanted, by her side.

Once they had squeezed in they found themselves situated on a red steel catwalk, looking down upon a group of workers, all seemingly on their break and enjoying a nice meal and some small-talk. Blake looked at Ruby again, still unsure as to what Ruby was trying to do here. Finally Ruby motioned for her to look as a dog Faunus, a badger Faunus and a human female walked over and sat down next to two humans and another dog Faunus. Blake smiled at the sight.

"When you mentioned that you did some protesting in this area when you were eight I decided to do some research." Ruby began explaining in a hushed tone. "This place was a primary target of the equal rights movement and well…" she finished the sentence with a motion of her hand towards the six happily socialising factory workers. "It wasn't just blind, naive optimism after all…"

_Damn… _thought Blake, genuinely touched at seeing three Faunus and three humans seemingly getting along as equals, the first time she'd ever had the opportunity to see her work in the White Fang actually affect a company positively. "Thanks for this Ruby…" was all she could say.

* * *

After leaving the factory they had trespassed into the duo decided to walk somewhere a little more legal, Blake settled on the park, adamant to show Ruby "the beauty of nature." The energetic red and black bundle of joy had no qualms with this as she gazed at the beautiful scenery. It was rare she found herself awe-struck by nature, only one place managed to do it every time: the Cliffside Altar, and now she found herself drinking in the tranquil visions splayed around her. The slowly swaying trees, the near unmoving pond and the scuttling of the still active animals all drew her attention as she walked hand-in-hand with Blake.

She felt the soft squeeze of Blake's hand on hers, comforting her as she stopped in the middle of the greenery, the pond just mere feet away. Ruby, being linked to Blake at that moment had no choice but to stop too. "Ruby…" Blake began, trying to the find the right words; she hadn't exactly been Romeo or a Juliet thus far tonight after all. "Ruby, you didn't have to do all of this you know? All we needed was a night to ourselves, away from Weiss and Yang. Everything has been really sweet but an expensive restaurant, two almost impossible to find books, BREAKING AND ENTERING into a manufacturing facility… Do you not think it was a bit much?"

Ruby lost herself in those amber eyes once more for a moment as she gazed at her loved one. "Nope." she said, a half-smile crossing Blake's face. "I didn't do this because I thought I had to, I did this because I wanted to. Everything tonight is worth it if you enjoyed even a single moment…"

The pair stood gazing at each other for several moments in silence, the smile growing on Blake's lips before it turned into an evil wry smirk. "That's so cheesy…" she said before Ruby tackled her to the ground, the pair hitting with an "Umph!"

"That's for scaring the hell out of me earlier… and for calling me cheesy." Ruby said victoriously as she straddled the raven haired Faunus beneath her. Seeing a weakness in her stance Blake twisted her hips, the redhead being thrown off-balance allowing Blake to switch positions with Ruby, the redhead now sprawled out on the ground, Blake's legs pressing against either side her body, tender hands pinning her arms to the ground.

"Never drop your guard Ruby…" she mocked triumphantly as Ruby struggled to throw the older girl atop her. Her struggles seized when Blake gave her a short kiss, also silencing any noises she was making during her struggles. Ruby couldn't help but feel that it was too short, already missing the taste of Blake's lips as she pulled back up from Ruby, back into a straddling position before unpinning her own arms from Ruby's and reaching up to the top of her head, tugging on the ribbons and allowing them to fall loose, her cat ears twitching in the cold breeze.

Ruby savoured the sight of Blake's true glory, the cat ears tipping her flawless raven hair which framed a beautiful pale face complete with those passionately burning amber eyes, further adding to her splendour. "Can I-Can I touch them?" It was something Ruby was unsure about, but she found them unbearably cute and just hoped it didn't weird Blake out.

Blake herself looked back at Ruby in wonderment. _Was stroking a thing for Faunus? I have no idea… _"Sure." She finally said with an uneasy shrug before shifting her weight to lie herself beside Ruby. _Honestly never thought we'd be getting this physical… _her cat ears twitched again as Ruby began to lightly scratch at their base, Blake's head cocking slightly to give the redhead's calloused fingers better access as she enjoyed the odd sensation. _But I could get used to it…_

"Aww…" Ruby said disappointedly as Blake glanced up to her.

"What is it?"

"You don't purr."

"What?"

Ruby continued scratching her ears as she explained "You don't purr, I was kind of hoping you'd purr."

"I CAN purr." Blake said pointedly "I choose not to." Ruby looked down at the faunus quizzically, even more disappointment washing over her at the possibility of cats manipulating her all her life.

"Cats can do that?"

Blake shot her a brief, evil glare before relaxing. "I don't know, I'm not a cat…" she quipped, letting Ruby's questioning slide.

Ruby's eyes began to dart back and forth looking at nothing in particularly as she just thought about whether or not she should ask her next question. "COULD you purr?" she finally asked earning another glare from Blake. "Please? Just for me?" she added, also putting on her puppy dog eyes.

_Confound it Ruby, that's not fair! _Blake thought to herself, any anger she had towards Ruby for seemingly exploiting her inner cat melting away as a low rumble began in her chest, the soft sound of purring filling the air. The expression on Ruby's face brightened up immediately, as expected by Blake who continued her purring anyways whilst enjoying the feeling of Ruby's scratching at her neck.

"That's a good kitty…" Ruby murmured absently.

"Thin ice Ruby…" she muttered half-seriously, Ruby only giggling in response, that same innocent, joyous laughter slowly becoming yet another thing Blake couldn't get enough of. _I could definitely get used to this._


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **So this is a Sun chapter, as in there's no one but him (and my own added minor OC) in it. Anyways, here's Chapter 9.

**Chapter 9: An Unusual Encounter**

**A few days prior to Ruby and Blake's first date…**

"Sun Wukong, I am arresting you on suspicious of-" The officer let out a grunt and a growl as an elbow crashed into his face, grimacing as he watched the monkey Faunus take off down the street. "Stop or we will have to resort to lethal force!" he warned as he darted off after the criminal once more.

Sun couldn't believe he'd gotten into this mess, it was a simple pickpocketing job that would pay for his next meal, and yet here he was four days later still on the run from the police; he couldn't even remember how this had gone so wrong. He did however know that he couldn't stop running out of fear of collapsing and capture and so he kept pushing himself, refusing to let his own exhaustion get the better of him. He may have regretted his actions on Saturday night, and the memory even pained him now as he sprinted away from an armed police officer, but he refused to let this become his end. Today was the not the day he would let his life as he knew it end.

"This is Sergeant Wilson requesting immediate reinforcements, I am in pursuit of the suspect and he is armed and dangerous. Recommend cutting him off by the docks!"

That was not something the blonde male could afford to run into, not right now, not after four days without food or shelter, not after two restless nights once he had heard the police stepped up their efforts to detain him. He didn't know if he would have the strength to overcome anyone if it really did come to physical violence. Spying what looked to be an empty alleyway out of the corner of his eye he banked right, darting into the seeming abyss, his Faunus vision giving him the edge over the human chasing him.

He heard the officer behind him once more barking into his radio "He entered an alleyway, fall into my location, we've got him now!" A groan of frustration escaped the fugitive as he leaped at a relatively low hanging wall, gripping onto it and pulling himself up onto the glass-tipped bricking, several smaller shards cutting into his gloved hands eliciting a shout of pain as he dashed across the top of the wall and leapt onto a low roof before jumping once more and gripping the second, higher roof of the same building.

Pulling himself up he cursed at himself, it would seem like three officers did indeed attempt to cut him off at the docks, luckily they seemed to be the only three in sight and he had several minutes before Sergeant Wilson managed to find his way back from their little detour.

_Sorry about this guys… _he thought to himself before leaping off the roof, his hand reaching behind his back to whip out his staff weapon. Sun slammed it into the ground when he landed, an orange shockwave blowing two of the officers off their feet as the third dashed toward him wielding the customary revolver/knife combo that every police constable was gifted upon passing all required tests. _Hasn't even gotten his own weapon yet… Lucky me…_

The likely inexperienced officer behaved exactly as expected, he was clumsy and off-balance at times and Sun easily blocked the few stray slashing attacks he threw his way before slamming his own weapon into the stomach of officer and stepping around him before slamming it once more in his back sending him across the docks where he landed with a thud.

The other two officers, seemingly more experienced twins with the same rifle/bayonet combo had now recovered and both dashed forward the two fighting in sync with much better form than the first. The blonde blocked the first attack, ducked beneath the second and pushed the first officer back slightly, narrowly avoiding another bayonet slash before delivering a quick blow to the hip of the closest threat, the officer shrugging it off.

The officer swung his weapon again, the blade sweeping upwards at Sun clashing with the staff causing the duo to enter a battle of strength which the officer won, ripping his weapon upwards and sending the monkey Faunus off-balance however before he could capitalise Sun had "recovered", allowing his lack of balance to take him and converting that motion into a backwards roll to create some distance before spinning on his axis as he got back to his feet and deflecting a correctly predicted shot from the second twin, the force of the round pushing Sun back slightly.

The first twin fired his own rifle now, another high powered round blasting through Sun's weapon blowing open the seal that held the nunchuks together and scraping by Sun's shoulder earning a yelp from the petty thief. _I'm running out of time. _Now gripping his weapon in gunchaku form Sun rolled to the left to avoid follow-up volleys from the two officers. Dodging several more shots he closed in on the closest officer swinging his weapon so that the chuk purposefully rested on the guy's shoulder and pulled the trigger, the shotgun element fired into thin air whilst the sound of the dust exploding within to propel the round rang out in the officer's ear, momentarily disoriented though hopefully not permanently deafening the man.

Following up on the distraction Sun whipped the weapon back to his own grasp before spinning around the man and releasing the stick in his left hand, the chain wrapping around the right leg of the disoriented officer as Sun gripped the stick once more and yanked toward himself, the man losing balance and flying through the air momentarily before crashing into the ground with a thud, his head smashing the concrete and knocking him unconscious, his aura seemingly activated to Sun's relief, _at least he isn't dead…_

His brother was already half-way to reaching Sun, having given up on trying to take aim at the Faunus so close to his own flesh and blood. Sun flung his weapon at the officer before dashing towards him; the gunchuks impacting with the officer's head causing him to stagger allowing Sun to grip the weapon once more, wrap the chain around the back of the man's neck and pull down with all his might whilst raising his knee. Sun cringed slightly upon hearing the man's jaw crack as kneecap met chin and the man flopped to the ground also unconscious.

Shaking the guilt from his body he glanced over to the way he was originally going to come from, faint conversations between several more police being heard. _Time to go… _he thought before dashing off, leaving the three unconscious police where they lay.

He was only running for what seemed like a few minutes when he began to risk checking the select few doors that were dotted around the market district just hoping one would be unlocked. The first two were, as expected, firmly locked tight, he had no way of entering without causing a ruckus and even if he wanted to do that he didn't have time to smash a door in.

The third door was the charm, clicking open as he turned the handle and slipped in. Sun chuckled to himself for the first time in four days _you'd have thought everyone would have the sense of mind to lock their doors given the news reports… _Still thanking his lucky stars he began to silently scout the house. It was a quaint little shack, the walls were wooden, possibly oak, and the floor was fitted with red carpet that looked soft.

The only furniture to be seen came in the form of a single chair and a coffee table adorned with an empty vase, a steaming coffee mug and a scroll. A small TV stood on what looked to be a bedside drawer and a warm fire was burning next to it all, giving the whole room a slight orange glow. _Wait. _Sun stopped in his tracks, taking in the obvious features that he just skipped over ever so naturally. _Steaming mug of coffee, TV switched on, scroll seemingly mid-use, and fireplace burning, there's a reason the door was unlocked… Whoever lived here is still awake._

As if on cue a slender and tan Faunus woman with short black hair with purple streaks dyed into it and a pair of white-tipped black fox ears walked in clad only in a towel, seemingly just stepping out of the shower. Sun panicked and lunged at the poor young woman, pulling her to the ground and pressing the chain of his gunchuks into the girl's mouth. The other faunus didn't even react, she just lay there in silence intently staring at the intruder as if expecting him to speak. "I'm not here to hurt you; I'll remove my weapon if you promise not to scream…"

The smaller though clearly well-toned and physically fit female just rolled her eyes in response, both at the cliché encounter and at the fact that he asked her to promise not to speak whilst he was gagging her, cause clearly she was in a position where she was able to even say "I promise." Seemingly taking note of the girl's minor frustration Sun released the grip on his weapon, remaining straddled across the unclothed woman.

"You do realise you're not the one in control here right?" she said confidently, her voice almost velvety. "Now do you mind getting off me…" she asked almost exhaustedly whilst motioning down to her body, namely the fact that her towel had begun failing to maintain what little decency such a thing provided. Sun laughed nervously before standing up, his hand scratching at the back of his neck causing him to wince as pain shot through it. The girl's emerald green eyes flickered over to the hand for a moment, taking in the blood stains, the ripped gloves and the two or three glass shards still poking out.

"That looks painful, let me just get dressed and I'll see to your wounds." she offered as she headed over to the hallway door in an almost skip-like fashion, before turning back to the mysterious blonde trespasser "Help yourself to the coffee, and I'll know if you touch the scroll…" She then finally turned away and disappeared into the hallway, light footsteps making their way upstairs.

_Strange girl… _Sun thought to himself before picking up the coffee, another surge of pain in his hand as he downed the first hot beverage he'd seen in two days. _Very very strange…_

**A day prior to Ruby and Blake's first date…**

Sun could feel the rays of the actual Sun bearing down upon him, streaming in through the open curtain as he blinked the sleep out of his eyes, once more needing to take in the sight of the room around him still unbelieving that he had found a safe haven in the last few days from the constant nightmare that had plagued him most of the week. "Good morning." came that warm soothing voice of his fox Faunus saviour.

She hadn't asked about why he broke into her home in the middle of the night moments after she had heard a gunshot covered in blood and pinned her to the ground, and he didn't dare ask why she hadn't. He was perfectly content with the status quo of this still unidentified young woman playing his hostage turned surprisingly willing guardian. She had turned away the police when they came to quiz her that first morning about a mysterious monkey Faunus that was spotted in the area, she had bandaged his wounds, she had put food in his belly and she provided him with a fridge full of drink. Again, he had no idea why. She just did.

"Come on, get up, if you're going to be hiding here then you're at least going to help me with the chores." Sun groaned already in defeat knowing that he could never bring himself to turn her down given everything she'd given him in the last few days. "You've got coffee in the living room and breakfast's cooking, try and have the hallway spick and span by the time its ready…" _What's worse? Being a wanted fugitive, hiding a wanted fugitive or exploiting that wanted fugitive? _Sun honestly had no idea; he just knew that what he had done last weekend trumped everything. _It was just pocket picking… how did I screw that up? _

"Criminal, look at me." She said with a commanding but friendly tone to her voice and a smile on her face.

Sun glanced up; everything about the girl was odd. Even ignoring the fact that she had went from sarcastic, judgmental bitch to being completely uncaring about Sun's clearly jaded past to being the warm friendly girl he was now speaking with in just two or three HOURS, she was just odd.

She was a reserved provocateur preferring privacy and having seemingly feigned feminine ideals but for some reason was a little bit of a teaser, not to Sun, never to Sun, but she had no issues turning on the charms when it benefitted her. She was also incredibly confident as well; seemingly both in her unspoken of abilities and socially, despite the fact that Sun had seen nothing but a cute, innocent girl that rarely actually left the house he'd been taking refuge in. And then there was the fact that she had the utmost trust in Sun at all times as if she knew exactly what he would do at any given moment despite knowing again that he was a criminal who trespassed into her house and pinned her to the floor just three nights ago.

Everything about this girl was just strange and it was reflected in her choice of clothing, an odd combination of red and purple striped stockings, black leather shorts, red and black canvas shoes and a black t-shirt that was see-through down the sides providing a teasing, darkened view of her hips and waste with what looked to be the pattern of a pair of Nevermore wings on the back. Her left arm was always adorned with a black, red and purple ribbon, hiding every inch of flesh from her shoulder to her gold bracelet adorned wrist. Her black and white bushy fox tail was there somewhere too though she hid it expertly well.

"Are you even listening?" she asked, Sun realising that he had lost himself in his own inner evaluation of the girl. Sun just nodded before giving out a yawn and stretching. "Good, because you've got five minutes to drink that coffee I made ya, and I started counting two minutes ago…" And with that the unique girl disappeared out the room. Sun could only describe his current dynamic with this girl as if he was being held prisoner by his own mother, caring and nurturing but almost demanding and iron fisted. His mother was never snarky though, and she'd kill him if she were still alive and saw the state he was in a few days ago.

A quarter of an hour later and Sun was sitting down to eat having made surprisingly short work of dusting and cleaning the hall. It was a rarity for him to do housework in general given his lifestyle over the last four years, this was the first time in that timeframe where he actually shared a house with someone willingly and he enjoyed the normality even if he was a little scared that it would end in the blink of an eye. The girl who was essentially his landlady was sat across from him, the duo digging in to a simple traditional breakfast of beans, sausages, bacon, egg and toast; he'd also learned that she was a damn good cook over the last few days.

"So it looks like the police stopped looking for you early yesterday morning." The girl finally noted as she dug into her food, mentioning Sun's obvious crime for the first time since Sun took up residence. "Got any plans now that the streets aren't so busy?"

Sun gulped down his food, this is exactly the conversation he didn't want, because he didn't want the normality to end, he had just started getting used to living a nice normal life and actually having company. "Well actually, uh" he began slightly unsure of himself _I can't ask to live here can I? That's just weird… _"I was wondering if I could sort of stay her for a little while longer…" _Screw it, she's kicking me out anyways, might as well go for broke._

"That's a stupid idea." Came the immediate reply, the fox Faunus gulping down the last of her food before standing and moving over to the sink to get rid of the plate. "Get out now whilst you still can, they may have stopped patrolling but that doesn't mean they aren't searching. Get out of Vale before they do find you."

Sun thought about it for a moment_ actually that does make a lot of sense, staying here is just delaying the inevitable task of leaving... and the other cities rarely concern themselves with issues outside of their walls. _"Huh..." he finally muttered whilst passing his own empty plate over to the still standing woman. "Yeah, I guess that's for the best." he conceded before finally working up the courage to ask her the one thing that had been on his mind the last few days _okay one of the two things. _"Why do you care about what happens to me?"

"I don't." the response was short, sour and a tad venomous before her voice softened. "Just that, whatever it is you did I'm sure you had your reasons, and I'm almost certain that I know worse people."

"I killed a guy…"

No response. Not even visually. _Is she in shock?_

"I was the one responsible for the assault on Saturday night…"

Still nothing, at least for a few tense minutes, nothing before finally she let out a chuckle "I knew it…" she said softly earning a quizzical look from Sun, seeing his gaze she just shrugged her shoulders casually "I knew I'd met worse."

_This girl just keeps getting stranger… _"Wait what? You've met worse than a murderer, pick pocket and street fighter?" The girl's green orbs rolled underneath some purple eye shadow.

She ignored Sun's question for a moment, continuing with her own thought process "Besides, I knew the victim, and his two cronies, they deserved what they got." She let the words linger for a moment, Sun slightly speechless at her casual cold-heartedness; that was a side he hadn't seen yet.

She continued several seconds later, finally answering the question at hand vaguely "That is what I said…" she paused again, letting out a short "Hmm…" as she thought. "Speaking of which you never actually told me your plans, you can't stay here, they'll find you and neither of us want that now do we? So now then: What actually IS your plan now that you have a chance to escape?"

Sun thought for a minute, he hadn't actually considered this far ahead, expecting at least a few more days under this girl's roof. "I have no idea… but I've been a man of impulse all my life, I'm sure I'll think of something when I'm out there, there's bound to be a ship leaving port today that I can catch."

"There isn't, but I'm sure you're right. You survived this long with only killing a few people... I'm sure you'll be fine out there on your own for a night, there's a ship leaving to Mistral at 5am."

Sun shot her another quizzical look, completely dumbfounded by her lack of logic. "Then why can't I just stay here another night?"

A light, warm smile appeared on the girl's rouged lips. "Because I'm the one making the rules here…" _That's not logic you strange, strange girl… _"Though I'd be lying if I said I was doing it because I was sick of housing a fugitive, it's actually quite nice to have some company." _So she actually does have a reason? Wish she'd stop speaking so cryptically, people like her and Blake… Blake, after all the time I spent getting her to talk hasn't even tried to check on me, too preoccupied with that redheaded teen…_

Sun's attention was dragged back to the girl at hand as she spoke "Apologies for having to cut this short Criminal, but I gotta go and refill my fridge, you kinda cleared it out in the last two days…" having washed the plates she headed to the doorway. "I expect you gone when I return, that being said don't hurry, I'm gonna be gone most of the day."

"My name is NOT Criminal, it's Sun Wukong…" he muttered in response, the girl stopped in her tracks her hand inches away from her front door's handle, she turned her head back to glance at the still seated Sun through the kitchen doorway.

"I know it is, but I also said I don't care…" she pulled on the handle and swung open the door to her little shack before turning back to face Sun. "It's Kiera D'branco by the way, not a fan of the last name though." she turned on her heel once more and stepped out of the door. "Thanks for asking by the way…"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 11: One Busy Night**

**An hour prior to Blake and Ruby's date…**

Sun wasn't entirely sure which girl he was thinking of at the time, he was still grateful to Kiera for letting him into her home for three days, he didn't deserve that. He was also still a little frustrated at Blake for seemingly forgetting about his very existence now that she had gotten closer to Ruby, she didn't deserve that. And he was still a little confused by the exchange he'd had a few hours earlier with Weiss Schnee, Blake's friend and heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, she did deserve that.

It wasn't a noteworthy encounter, Weiss literally bumped into him on the street, seemingly a little preoccupied with something and the two just made small-talk for a short while, exchanging greetings, thoughts on the day, a story or two of what had been going on. Sun opted to not mention the last week. For some reason he had never actually been publicly displayed as the suspect despite the police pursuing him for five days straight and still being alert throughout first few hours of the sixth.

He did mention that he felt a little ignored by Blake and Weiss told him that her teammate had a good reason, a reason Sun already knew about given that Blake had messaged him with contained excitement after that first night she spent with Ruby in the hospital. There was little else of note beyond that Weiss was out shopping to "cheer up a friend" but it wasn't the encounter itself, it was that Weiss initiated the conversation, considering his only ever meeting with her he never expected that. _Guess people can change for the better. _He shut his eyes and shook his head. _Come on Sun, you can do better than judge a girl you barely know… _

Speaking of girls he barely knew he obliged Kiera's request to clear out, she'd probably be back home by now and here he was, on the streets once again, a nice, familiar and lonely environment. _So I got fixed up by Kiera, my weapon is back in top shape and I have a way out of Vale. Only issue is I'd rather not leave without a goodbye to Blake… well the truth is I'd rather not leave but I have no idea how Kiera would react if she saw me again, in Vale that is. _Arriving at his destination he glanced at the logo of "Andy's Eat and Drink". It was a nice place, nothing special but it was perfect for what he needed right now. He gripped the lien Kiera had given him yesterday. _One thing's for sure though… no more stealing… _

**Minutes prior to Blake and Ruby's date…**

"You should surprise her with a bungee jump! Ooh, take her paintballing beforehand! And buy her dance lessons! I always wanted to go skinny dipping…"

Pyrrha had already collapsed in exhaustion; this had been Nora for the last hour. An excitable, rambunctious and downright insane bundle of ecstasy and happiness, it would have been nice, cute even, if it wasn't for the fact that they were trying to give Ruby actually helpful advice. Luckily, where the level-headed and collected redhead had already given in, the boisterous blonde in the corner had not.

"I don't think Blake would enjoy bungee jumping. The only paintballing place open right now requires advanced booking. I don't think you want to let Blake hear that you don't think she can dance. As for the skinny dipping… Was that even a suggestion?"

Nora's face dropped at the logical rejection of all of her ideas before quickly picking back up again out of curiosity. "Can she dance?" Yang slapped her hand into her face and groaning slightly, earning a chuck from the borderline insane redhead.

"I don't know Nora… probably."

"Yes she can." Said Ruby finally, the first time she had even acknowledged Nora's ideas beyond giggling at them as she stepped out from behind a make shift curtain revealing her newest idea for an outfit. Yang's eyes narrowed on the jeans, unnerving her sister slightly, the youngest redhead in the room beginning to twiddle with her thumbs slightly.

"Are those my jeans?"

"Umm… I wanna say no?"

Pyrrha quickly got back to her feet from Nora's bed, placing herself in between the two sisters, she had no idea how attached Yang was to her clothing, but she didn't want to find out after witnessing the blonde almost burn down a school in defense of her sister, and after seeing the state of Cardin's face after he had ruffled her hair. "Okay Yang, just keep calm, the jeans look good on her, and there's no way they're yours, they wouldn't even fit you."

Yang eyes locked onto Pyrrha, violet orbs burning with rage locking with emerald eyes burning with anxiety and a hint of fear, the prodigal huntress of Mistral gulped as Yang took a deep breath. "They won't fit me? They won't fit me!?" Yang shouted, offended by Pyrrha, her eyes flickering from violet to red now. "I'll have you know that those jeans fit me fine! I'll prove it right now, Ruby hand them over…"

Ruby began to nervously play with her hands, she liked how she looked right now, and she had a date in a few minutes, Yang took a step closer holding her left hand out expectantly. "Is that a no to the skinny-dipping?" _Goddamnit Nora! _Thought Ruby as Yang's eyes turned red once more, a fiery cloak surrounding her as she groaned in frustration.

"Oh look at the time, Nora's fallen behind on her training; better get in a few sessions before bed!" Pyrrha explained, dragging Nora by the back of her black collar out of the door. Once the door closed Yang calmed down a tiny bit, now relaxed enough to realise that she was moments away from lighting Team JNPR's dorm room, and likely by extension the dormitory itself, on fire. Continuing on the reprieve from the madness Yang inhaled deeply through her nose before exhaling through her mouth with a slight sigh.

Ruby stepped forward, still slightly on edge. "I'm-I'm sorry about stealing your clothes."

"It's okay I guess, they DO look pretty good on you…" Yang trailed off for a minute, looking at the time. "And you're date's about to start so I GUESS it's okay, just this one time." Ruby smiled and hugged her sister.

"Thanks Yang, you're the best…"

"No problem, sis." Yang replied, clutching her younger sibling tightly for a few seconds. "How do you know Blake can dance?"

Ruby cuddled into her sister as she spoke "I walked in on her once when she thought we were all out, she really is a great dancer…" the redhead pulled away from her sister, breaking the hold the duo had on one another.

"Oh and no skinny-dipping…"

Ruby let out a short hearty laugh at her sister. "Trust me you don't have to worry about that, I might have to bring it up at some point though, Blake's reaction would be priceless…" She spared her own glance at the clock. "Okay, here we go." She muttered to herself as she opened JNPR's dorm room door. "Wish me luck!" she called out as she strode across the corridor and knocked on the wood.

"Why? You won't need it." Ruby smiled and shook her head as Blake opened the door, dressed in her combat gear. A little bit of an odd choice, but still breath taking none the less.

"Hi."

"Hi."

**20 minutes into Blake and Ruby's date…**

"Again." called Pyrrha as her teammate clambered to her feet, her hands gripping Magnhild as she stared down the fierce redhead.

"So, you think they were Yang's jeans?" Nora asked with a swing of her weapon Pyrrha bent backwards and backed up slightly to avoid the blunt object before jumping back a step to avoid the follow-up swing and then rolling to the side to avoid an overhead smash.

"Given her reaction… Kinda hoping not…" the reserved girl admitted before leaping across the training ground upon hearing the pull of the trigger on her teammate's ridiculous weapon, failing to escape the blast and rolling slightly along the ground before getting back to her feet quickly. "I hope Ruby's alright." She said softly before charging Nora who switched Magnhild into grenade launcher form and began firing volley after volley in her friend's direction, the prodigy darting from left to fight to avoid the pink explosions whilst closing the distance.

"Ruby'll fine. She's too adorable for Yang to stay mad at, especially on a day like this." Nora raised her grenade launcher defensively just in time to block a slash from Pyrrha's xiphos, holding her stance as she drained the attack. Her balance faltered slightly however as Pyrrha slammed Akoúo̱ into the grenade launcher immediately following the blocked sword blow, knocking Nora forward slightly.

Seizing a desperate opportunity Nora fired at the ground, the blast blowing both her and Pyrrha behind where Nora had started off, knowing she was going to do that Nora had already prepared herself and recovered quicker than her opponent, Pyrrha taking a guard stance not long after as Magnhild switched back to hammer form. "Here's hoping Blake thinks the same thing going forward."

Nora looked at Pyrrha confusedly for a moment, clearly taken aback by that last remark. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Pyrrha's confident amazoness stance floundered slightly, the still slightly socially inept young woman showing signs of nervousness as she tried to explain herself. "I'm just saying that, at the some point Blake MAY get angry at Ruby, and that I sincerely hope Blake will find Ruby's puppy look as adorable as everyone else does…" She then surged forward, eager to distract her partner from the topic. Nora pulled back Magnhild, waiting for the incoming attack. Pyrrha swung, Nora side stepped the swing, Nora swung her own giant warhammer and Pyrrha blocked with her shield as sparks began to fly from the impact.

"Don't worry about it. I already know that Blake loves Ruby more than anything in the world, besides if adorableness fails Ruby then she can always take to scratching Blake's ears." She said with a hearty chuckle, the announcement caught Pyrrha off-guard, the girl dropping her shield in surprise. Pyrrha was met with Magnhild slamming into her, the Mistral Regional Champion flying across the room they were situated in and landing with a thud.

"YES!" Nora celebrated, completely unaware of exactly what she said to Pyrrha. Her teammate however stumbled back to her feet looking towards Nora with a remaining look of surprise as she gripped the hilt of Miló and steadied herself.

"What did you just say?"

Nora's face dropped as she thought back to the conversation they were just having. _"Besides if adorableness fails Ruby then she can always take to scratching Blake's ears."_ She gulped. "I don't suppose you'd believe me if I said Blake liked having her human ears scratched?" Pyrrha just raised an eyebrow at her, answering Nora's rhetorical question without actually speaking. Nora sighed as she hoisted up Magnhild, the giant weapon resting against the woman's frame. "Okay, so it's not at all impossible that Blake may sort of, kind of, almost certainly, probably, definately be a cat Faunus…" the eccentric girl nervously admitted scratching at the back of her. "But she doesn't want anyone to know… At least not yet…"

"Huh… Okay then."

"Okay then?"

"Yup, why should I care if Blake's a Faunus? It doesn't change anything besides the reason she wears that bow."

"I guess you're right." Nora finally said after a brief moment of thinking over Pyrrha's words, she never judged Blake anyways, but she did treat this whole "coming out" thing as more sensitive than it should have had to be. Why is Blake coming out as a Faunus such a big deal? She's still a person at the end of the day, it should be a fact of life, not a sensitive issue that we all have to tip-toe around and convince and commend her on doing…

Nora was brought back from her thoughts by Pyrrha charging forward, she had already closed half of the spacing between them and had recollected Akoúo mid-sprint using her semblance. Nora swung and missed, Pyrrha pirouetting around her and slamming her bronze shield into the more excitable girl's back. Nora converted the momentum into a forward roll and swung again, the weapon slamming into Pyrrha's shield causing Pyrrha to require her polarity to remain stable, her semblance adding to her own strength as Akoúo and Magnhild scraped against one another, several more sparks flying as the metals clashed.

"So, new topic:" announced Nora. Pyrrha rolled her eyes _it's more exhausting maintaining a conversation than it is actually fighting…_ she quipped before smiling a little urging Nora to go on. "So what do you think about this Chimera business?" she asked as Pyrrha slowly managed to overpower her, the more skilful redhead slowly getting back to a more stable, straightened stance, in doing so knocking Nora off-balance and required the second redhead to take a step back, Magnhild losing contact with the shield it had previously been battling.

_She should have used Magnhild's grenade launcher function… She could have had the upper hand right now…_ Pyrrha thought to herself before remembering that Nora had asked a question. "I think that, whoever did this are clearly targeting hunters." She swung her double-edged blade, Nora ducking beneath before swinging her own warhammer, Pyrrha dodging to the side. "The five known locations of chimera appearances have all been common training locations for hunters, and hunters-in-training. The only one that isn't is a place that has started getting heavy hunter traffic due to the institutional fear of the White Fang."

Nora swung once more, Akoúo again absorbing the hit but this time with Pyrrha letting Nora's swing push her back so as to not lock herself into another test of strength whilst placing space between her and her teammate. "Could be another kingdom trying to provoke the Grimm into entering the city. Or it could be someone else just trying to take out hunters." She rolled forward, just beneath Magnhild as it impacted into the ground, placing her inside the effective range of the warhammer. Using the momentum of the roll she slammed the edge of her shielded into the stomach of her training partner, the other girl's aura flaring as the wind was took out of her.

"But either way…" Pyrrha began as gracefully twirled behind Nora, attempting to place Milo at her throat only to have Nora recover quicker than expected and roll to safety before swinging Magnhild in an overhead arc. Pyrrha raised her shield defensively, once more locked in a test of strength as her legs shook from the force. "But either way, there's definitely someone at work and whoever they are they want us dead…"

"Take this!" Nora said, pulling the trigger on her weapon, an explosion ringing out as Magnhild blasted through Akoúo, the shield dropping to the floor as Pyrrha flew towards Nora, ducking and rolling just past her, and using her semblance to catch the metallic mechanism that converted her teammate's weapon to and from its two forms. "Wha-?" Nora cried out in surprise as Magnhild entered grenade launcher form before the barrel of the gun was stuffed with a javelin, Milo now leaving xiphos form for the first time that evening and Pyrrha pulling the trigger, the force of the shot blasted both the javelin and the grenade launcher across the arena floor.

Nora's attention however was quickly dragged back to Pyrrha whom had taken to charging in unarmed. This was Pyrrha's ball game now, Nora was a fine hand to hand fighter, but she knew she was no match for her teammate. Pyrrha soon managed to overwhelm an admirable effort to defend, block and counter her kicks and punches, eventually managing to sweep Nora's leg sending the energetic female to the floor and naming Pyrrha the victor.

Pyrrha extended her hand to Nora which the cheerful redhead gripped happily bouncing back to her feet. "I'm beat!" Nora said enthusiastically despite her exhaustion. "Come on, let's get back and rest, we're on White Fang duty for the next two weeks, we'll need the sleep." Pyrrha just nodded secretly proud of her usually boisterous teammate for taking something seriously for once. _Not that I'd tell her that… I've said the wrong thing way too much today as it is…_

_**An hour into Blake and Ruby's date…**_

_I knew it… Why is he here? _Blake thought as she stepped into the shadowy alley once Ruby had disappeared from view, her Faunus vision giving her an outline of the man whom she cared for in spite of the fact she detested him right now. "What are you doing here Adam…" she questioned, hatred evident in her voice, her face completely expressionless.

Adam stood there in the darkened alleyway, his eyes scanning Blake's form taking in the only feature he cared about. _She's weaponless. _"Relax Blake." He took several steps forward towards the younger girl. "I never broke my promise; I never did actually search for you." He was now only around ten feet away from Blake and the raven haired girl began eying his own weapon, suddenly feeling a little uneasy that she was unarmed in the presence of a White Fang member.

_Adam or not he's still a cold-blooded killer on the White Fang's payroll… _she gulped down her fear, Adam noticing. "And yet here you are…"

Adam chuckled once. "Sometimes fate just decides to play its part, it's a very stubborn thing you know…" he paused for a second, noting that Blake clearly didn't believe him. "I was here scouting, you do remember that the White Fang and Beacon Academy are now enemies, right?" Blake scoffed, clearly still disbelieving.

"You're not a scout, when I was with the White Fang they never once sent you on a recon mission."

Adam's face contorted, rage passing over his expression, his body stiffening as he responded. "No, no I'm not. But following my report that I couldn't find you the White Fang lost faith in me, over the last year I went from trusted field commander to the scouting guard dog of that snake of a human…" Blake's face dropped, a little saddened at the fact that her abandonment of the White Fang had actually affected Adam.

"I-I had no idea."

"Why would you have? Besides it's not all bad, you know what they say about your friends and your enemies… This way I get to keep Roman as close as possible." Adam took a step forward, Blake took a step back. Adam took note of it and stopped his own progression, clearly being unarmed had put Blake on edge, and right now he wasn't actually here to hurt her. "So, this girl, Ruby is her name I believe?"

_Did we ever actually say Ruby's name in Adam and Roman's presence? _"That girl is none of your business!" Blake shouted, trying to put on a brave face whilst secretly dreading the results if this situation deteriorated into a confrontation.

"She's a student of Beacon yes?" Blake just nodded in response. "Then she made herself one of my targets, just like you did…"

"Beacon will stop you… Whatever your plan you won't win." Blake retorted.

Adam laughed at Blake's voice, shaking ever so slightly, to the point where Blake had to be hoping that Adam couldn't even sense it. "I look forward to the attempt. So, this girl…"

"You don't touch her Adam, promise me at least that."

Adam laughed again and began pacing back and forth across the non-existent barrier that Blake had drawn up and considered a "safe distance" from the armed man, thinking to himself before finally talking. "Promises aren't something you can always keep Blake; sometimes destiny necessitates turning promises into lies."

Blake took another step back despite Adam never stepping forward. Those words chilled her to the bones and prompted her to double check her exit strategy, hoping that Adam really was on recon and that the White Fang weren't here for her. "So tell me Blake… what's so special about this girl that you can't stand the thought of me killing her? From your words it sounds like Ms. Schnee and the blonde girl are fair game…"

Blake blushed and stammered slightly trying to explain, Adam took great amusement from the situation, he already knew of Blake's feelings for the girl, and Blake already knew he knew, and yet she was still too embarrassed to actually say it. "Just don't touch her!" she finally shouted again. A few seconds passed with Adam just staring at her, the movement of his mask suggested that he'd raised his eyebrows. "Or any of them for that matter; you have no reason to…"

Adam tutted and took another step forward, Blake despite seemingly widening the spacing deemed as safe between them earlier didn't step back. "You're just not getting it Blake." He began, his small steps becoming a walk as he strode over to the position Blake was seemingly rooted in. "It's not about what I want; it's not about what you want. It's about chaos and order, war and peace. This isn't just a game of one-upsmanship between us. What happened is in the past there is no longer a debt between us."

He was now mere inches away from Blake, the girl still unmoving as he closed in. "When the White Fang became what it is today we both chose a path and walked it and this is where we ended up. Two souls that accept the decisions of the one they used to care about."

One final step placed him right beside Blake, both looking at opposite ends of the alley they were situated in. "And now here we both stand, pawns in what may prove to be an unforgiving war. The slate has been wiped clean Blake; there are no favours to be asked. Not anymore. There are just those that label themselves as an enemy to the White Fang, and those that stand by my side. Next time I won't hesitate, no matter who is stood opposite me on that bloodied battlefield."

Blake visibly shook _so this is what bone chilling fear feels like… _she thought to herself as Adam walked off towards the exit of the alley, stopping just before he turned the corner. "Tell me something Blake." His voice returned back to its usual carefree demeanour from the slowly increasing cold blooded tone it had begun to develop into over the last minute or so. The cat Faunus didn't respond, instead just remaining still, still frozen to that same spot. "Have you been completely honest with Ruby? Will any happily ever after that you may find actually be free from the taint of the lies you've been living for the last year?"

Blake just nodded, earning a sceptical stare from her doubtful former partner. "If you say so…" Adam surrendered before continuing his walk out the alley, stopping himself once more almost immediately and looking back again. "By the way that music box I got you 9 years ago? I got it from a shop not too far from here "Dusty's Antiques" was the name I think, should still be in business… you can't miss it if you just cut through that alley way. Something to give to Ruby as an excuse for disappearing on her…"

Blake nodded once more "Thanks…" she said quietly. Adam said nothing and finally left the alley, making his way to god knows where. It took several more moments before Blake finally let herself relax, trusting that Adam really had left and that she really was alone, a stray tear fell down her cheek. _How did this happen Adam, how did you become this monster?_

**A short while later…**

Yang sat bored in her dorm. As expected, once Blake and Ruby disappeared, Weiss fell into silence. Neither really got on too well. Sure they were civil to each other, and cared deeply about one-another's wellbeing, but sometimes people could mistake them for strangers considering how little they actually communicated, especially in comparison to how much they both communicated with Blake, Ruby and the majority of Team JNPR.

Yang had already gave up twice on trying to initiate a conversation, both times Weiss just responding that she needed to focus on her studies. The blonde instead surrendering herself to another 20 minutes of staring at her own bunk from the one she was sitting on. _Okay Yang, come on you know what they say about the third time… _"So Weiss, you ever wondered why we're here?"

Weiss spared a single glance in her direction, only one eye actually looking at her, a single eye brow raised. "Seriously Yang, I REALLY need to get this work done, it's in for Monday…"

"Precisely Weiss" Yang exclaimed sitting up on Blake's bed as she tried to make her point. "You still have two days to finish it; couldn't we just speak for once?"

Weiss turned her head to her blonde teammate. _She's right Weiss. She just wants to talk; she's your teammate so talk to her you dunce! _"Honestly…" she began, placing the open textbook she had been reading for several minutes now in search of the next part of her report down onto her bed.

"I don't know Yang, of every single individual thing that could have been giving a place on this world; we were the race that became dominant." Yang's eyes narrowed, a crease appearing on her forehead as she looked on at the talking Weiss slightly confused. "Individually there must be a reason for why we exist beyond that we were born. I don't know what that reason is, but I'm sure we will find out in time."

"Umm… I meant why are we here, right now? Neither of us actually has anything immediate to do… Why don't we go out?" Yang began to smile at Weiss whom groaned in frustration "Or you could tell me more about your philosophy of life…" a wry smirk formed on Yang.

Weiss scoffed at the annoying girl _Okay maybe that was a bad idea… _Yang thought to herself whilst observing the ivorny heiress's increasing anger. "Okay, I really don't have time to go out Yang, now please just let me get on with my work…" _Yup, bad idea… _Yang sighed and proceeded to lie back down on her partner's bed picking up a coin and idly flipping it into the air and catching it again in a vain attempt to entertain herself.

After only a few short minutes she groaned, admitted defeat to boredom and placed the coin back down much to the relief of Weiss who found the noise and the sight out of the corner of her eye annoying, and slightly distracting. However Weiss's frustrations and struggles to maintain her own concentration were further hampered when Yang grabbed the controller to the small TV that she and Ruby went halves on but a few weeks ago. The TV blared to life, a soft multi-coloured glow shining into the already bright room. The news was on.

"Our headline today: Chief Constable Jaden Carmine has called off the search for the unidentified suspect of last Saturday night's assault on three drunk human males which resulted in one death and two people being left in critical condition."

Weiss sat up on her bed once more, her eyes glued to the screen.

"The call was made to call off the search for the individual who will remain anonymous for their own protection when new evidence came to light suggesting that the incident was in fact caused by a suicide pact amongst the three friends. It is now believe that three in fact jumped from the roof of a building and two survived. Earlier today the surviving duo, one Alex Steele and one Steven Slate, were found dead as a result of what is being called "an intentional drug overdose." In other news-"

Yang switched the channel, either not caring for the lesser news stories or not wanting to hear them in the event that they were as depressing as the last before turning down the volume slightly whilst "I Burn" played over the music channel she had selected. "Well that's gotta at least be a relief, no serial killer on the loose after all…"

Weiss scoffed at Yang's optimism. "Yeah, because having the duo mysteriously die of a drug overdose whilst in hospital moments before it became impossible to shut the case without a suspect is mere coincidence…"

"What are you saying?" Yang asked, sitting up further and crossing her legs.

Weiss got to her feet and began making her way over to the small kitchen area the dorm was fitted with. "I'm saying that I think you're being a little…" _naïve _"overoptimistic… I don't think this was a suicide pact, when has any case ever been a shut and close case when it comes to murders in the last five years?"

Yang processed the words. "So you're saying the White Fang did it?"

"Not at all." She opened the fridge door and grabbed the milk. "Do you want some tea?" she asked Yang just nodding as Weiss went about preparing the cups. "I'm just saying that... that…" her voice weakened slightly, a trace of sadness being detected by Yang. "I'm just saying that every time a family or a board member disappeared or died, there was always a reason, something that stopped the White Fang being labelled as an immediate threat worthy of governmental action…"

Yang's face fell, the blonde standing up and moving closer to Weiss, placing a reassuring hand on the ivory girl's shoulder. Weiss just stood there appreciating the comfort though she scalded herself inwardly for needing it in the first place. "I don't know if it is the White Fang, but in my experience, that's a lot more likely than having two critically wounded people somehow finding their way into the hospital stash of painkillers and downing two hundred of them…"

Weiss found herself turning into Yang as the elder Rose sister wrapped a protective arm around her, embracing the white haired woman. Yang didn't have anything she could say that would comfort her, she just understood exactly where her lack of faith in the law came from. "You're not the only one finding themselves doubting the justice system..." Weiss peered up curiously to the face of the girl hugging her.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Sit down and let me finish off the tea, it's kind of a long story…"

**The end of Blake and Ruby's date…**

They'd been lay like that for over half an hour now, the cold air being swatted away by the cape that was now draped across the cuddling duo, Blake had stopped purring not too long ago and Ruby didn't seem to mind as she just lay there, overjoyed that Blake was there with her at all. The black-haired woman smiled _all in all this has been a good night… _then Ruby spoke up.

"We're bad at this dating malarkey aren't we?"

Blake shook her head, nuzzling into Ruby slight, and her ears twitching indicating that she was happy. "No Ruby, you're good at this stuff. And I promise I'll get better…" Blake couldn't see her girlfriend's reaction but she could pretty much guess. The redhead's face had lit up, excitement in her eyes at Blake's phrasing, she struggled to and barely contained her excitement preferring to just lay there not wanting to ruin the moment, it was far too comfortable.

"So what do we tell the others?" she enquired, her fingers scratching at the base of her partner's ears.

"We tell them that I'll need motorcycle lessons off of Yang, I'm not having you pay for another Bullhead…"

That time Ruby failed. She jumped up from their laid down positioning Blake's head lifting with her, the older girl supporting her body on her elbows with a smile across her face, amused at Ruby's uncontainable excitement. "So this is-I-We're-"

Blake let out a small chuckle before moving to a sitting position and gripping Ruby's shoulder, hushing at her boisterous girlfriend in an attempt to calm her down. When the youthful redhead finally did settle the faunus smiled and nodded. "Yes we are." Blake shivered, finally actually feeling the cold air for the first time that night now that the red velvety cloak was cast off the two girls' upper bodies. "Come on, it's starting to get cold for me, I can't imagine what it's like for you. We should head back…"

The black beauty was the first to stand, offering a hand to the smaller teen, Ruby accepting it as Blake pulled her up, Ruby's spare hand clutching the cloak and flinging it idly around the pair as they walked towards the exit of the park. "Oh, here." remembered Ruby handing over the black ribbon.

"Huh, forgot about that…" admitted Blake in a pleasantly shocked tone before fixing it atop her head and gripping the cloak that had fallen from her shoulders whilst she hid her ears. "How did I forget I didn't have that on? You've been petting my cat ears for the last 35 minutes..." she felt the girl she was hugging into shrug as they walked. "That's not becoming a common occurrence by the way…"

"What the petting?"

"No the purring… you're gonna have to earn that in the future…"

Ruby let out a giggle, slightly defiant and dominant in tone. "Challenge accepted."

**A few hours after Blake and Ruby's date…**

The night really had become unforgiving; Sun was left on the streets with no shelter and just enough money to buy him a new life in Mistral. All he had to do was get through one more night in the open and he'd be a free man, a free man who would miss Blake and Kiera, but a free man none-the-less. "Could have done without it being the coldest night of the year though…" he muttered to himself, shivering slightly whilst wandering a few streets idly in an attempt to keep on the move to warm up his body.

He stopped in his tracks for a minute. _Who is that? _There was a shadow in the distance, the dark figure of a man cast on the path by the moon, and the man was unmoving. The shadow extended out from behind a building on the end of the street he was walking down. He could recall there was a small collection of parking spaces there and not much else. _Why would anyone just be loitering there at this time a night? _He continued his walk up the street, slightly intrigued by the second presence, his hand at the ready to pull out his weapon.

"Stop."

Sun froze, he wasn't sure why, but he froze, obeying the mysterious voice without question. His evergreen eyes locked onto the shadow as it moved out from behind the wall obscuring it and slowly traced the shadow to its source. A tall man appeared, illuminated in the moonlight that poked up from behind the houses to his left. He wore an almost entirely black and red ensemble consisting of a trench coat, trousers, gloves and shoes, the trench coat had a red and white design on the left breast and on the back. He was carrying what looked to be a rifle with a safety muzzle attached. His hair was slightly windswept and in colours of brown and red. His most noticeable feature was his white and red mask donned over his eyes, obscuring his features with a single horn protruding from each side.

"Who are you?" Sun asked, a little intimidated as he gripped his gunchaku.

"I'm just one of many men and women that as of yesterday morning you owe a great debt too… one that we expect to be repaid in full." Sun hesitated, his hand dropping away from his back. "That's a good boy." Sun couldn't help but hate this man's voice; it wasn't insulting, joking or even business-like; the man's voice was absolutely emotionless as he spoke, clearly not caring how Sun took his words. "Now then Sun, I believe I know a few people who would like to speak to you."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Morning Of**

Well that was unexpected. When Weiss awoke this morning to the shake of her own bed and Blake nowhere in sight she blushed, gulped and cursed to herself, calling the lewd act taking place above her inappropriate and indecent before climbing up the ladder, bracing herself for a psychologically scarring image and inhaling heavily ready to give Blake and Ruby a piece of her mind.

There was no lewd act. There was also no Blake. What was happening was Ruby was tossing and turning, her eye lids fluttering and squeezing as she winced occasionally. Weiss's face dropped and her heart stung slightly, her sleeping partner looked terrified, whatever she was dreaming about seemed to be cutting deep into Ruby's emotions. Pulling herself up she snuggled into Ruby whispering soft words and stroking the usually petulant and annoying teenagers arm in an attempt to soothe the still thrashing girl.

A few seconds later Ruby bolted upright, her entire body shaking, a shrill scream escaping her lips before she began to whimper, fighting back sobs. Her shaking subsided for a short moment when she felt tender arms embrace her and a body press against her side, offering her warmth, support and a comforting shoulder for her to rest on. Ruby bent her head slightly to the side, her cheek resting on the soft fabric. Soft, soothing hushes calmed the girl as callous yet tender finger stroked her bare arms, eliciting the odd giggle from the ticklish teen.

Shortly thereafter Ruby managed to calm, content to just enjoy the presence of whoever was offering her support. "Thanks Blake…" she murmured lovingly before feeling the body she was resting against tense slightly. "Blake?" she murmured once again, finally peering up to see the ivory princess that was her partner.

"Shhh…" Weiss whispered in response, her body relaxing once more as she convinced herself that it was perfectly natural that Ruby would expect it to be Blake cuddling into her, or at the very least Yang. "It's okay Ruby, everything will be fine now, I promise." Ruby cuddled in closer her own arms now embracing Weiss as she collected her thoughts, reliving the nightmare.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly, still gazing into Weiss's calming blue eyes as they narrowed questioningly. "I'm sorry that I thought you were Blake…" she appended before snuggling in slightly closer.

Weiss shook her head at the girl, feigning disbelief at Ruby's apologising for assuming it wasn't Weiss. Who could blame Ruby? After all even now, after several months of partnership with Ruby and teaming with Yang and Blake she still barely spoke to Yang, she'd only just stopped pushing Blake away last month and this was the first time she had ever willingly made first contact with Ruby outside of formal or combat situations. Weiss was that last person that even Weiss would expect to be hugging Ruby. She appreciated the sentiment secretly though but Ruby didn't need to know that right now. What Ruby needed was someone to be there for her, and that's exactly what Weiss promised Ruby all those months ago. "You want to talk about it?" she asked, not really knowing what to expect in response.

She got a shaking head, Ruby's cheeks rubbing against her shoulders, the rough fabric of Weiss's nightdress seams slightly marking the soft skin. "It's nothing, really." said Ruby with a certain air of finality that prevented Weiss from daring to push the matter further. Just then the door creaked open and Blake walked in, taking almost baby steps whilst looking up at Ruby apologetically, earning a judgmental stare from Weiss in return as she read Blake's expression.

"Come on then Ruby…" Weiss began trying to best find the words to get the redhead to take action, deciding that using her own obvious lie against her would be the best route, even if it did make the heiress feel slightly guilty. "If it's nothing then we should be getting ready for school, class starts in two hours, might as well get a move on." Ruby nodded an obvious tone of defiance in her body language as she shrugged away from Weiss, descended down the ladder and disappeared into the bathroom following a smile and a kiss to Blake's cheeks, the black haired woman unmoving during the exchange.

Weiss waited for a few seconds after the bathroom door closed and listened intently for the shower to burst into life before sparing one last glance over to the out for the count Yang and dropping back down to her own bed. "What the hell was that?" she chastised in a whispered shout, Blake's obviously rushed bow came undone and fell away as her cat ears flattened against her head, guilt and regret were plastered on her usually unreadable face.

"I don't know. I-I-I didn't know what to do…" she admitted, stammering occasionally as she tried to explain abandoning a clearly terrified Ruby mid-nightmare. "I just saw her shaking and she wouldn't stop and I-I-" she trailed off, her voice breaking slightly as her behaviour devolved into minor, quiet sobbing. Weiss failed to maintain her angry face as her heart strings were pulled. Blake was just as, if not more scared of what she saw in Ruby than whatever Ruby was so frightened of in her dream.

"Shshshshh… Come on Blake; it's okay, everything is okay now." Weiss whispered, her voice much softer than before as she shifted beds to cuddle into the Faunus girl, her nightdress absorbing Blake's tears. _Talk about a rough morning..._

"It's not though is it?" Blake choked out between sobs. "I should've been there for her; I shouldn't have just left her trembling… I-"

Weiss cut her off with a simple word. "Stop" it had become a near unwritten rule that than when Weiss wanted you to shut up and listen then that was the word you'd hear. Blake obeyed, peering up from the very same shoulder Ruby had leaned on for comfort just moments before. "Blake, no one can blame you for buckling under pressure." Weiss chastised herself for poor wording as Blake flinched. "What I mean is, this is entirely new to you, to my knowledge you've never once had someone else play the vulnerable one, you've never had that little sister or that loved one that has got themselves in such a state that you enter a near fight or flight mode. Fleeing was what happened this time, it won't happen again… You won't let it."

Blake sniffed, her eyes scanning nothing in particularly as she absently gazed around the room, nothing but Yang's snoring, the showerhead blasting Ruby with warm water and Weiss's controlled breathing filling the air. Finally Blake nodded. "Yeah… next time things will be different. Next time I'll be there for her." She squeezed Weiss in a tight bear hug, entirely uncharacteristic of the black haired girl before releasing her, curiosity threatening to kill the cat. "But how did you, you know…"

Weiss stared for a moment trying to figure out what Blake was dancing around before it finally clicked. "Oh… daddy… only twice have I ever seen him display any emotion that wasn't rage in the last five years. The first came thirty five months ago, there was a knock on the door; a young man stood behind it with a letter and handed it over. "I'm sorry…" he said before disappearing. The pain that I saw in his eyes that day as he read that single sheet of paper is something I will never forget…" Blake just continued gazing at the heiress, the ice princess shedding a few of her own tears now, hands reaching up to wipe them away and continuing, not wanting Blake to speak on the matter.

"I wouldn't see that kind of agony, despair or sadness again for another two years. Operation Snowfall I believe was the name." Blake winced, swallowing down a lump in her now dry throat, her hands beginning to fiddle nervously, the cat Faunus hoping the heiress wouldn't notice. "That was what finally prompted father to let me pursue my dreams; he knew that, rather ironically, I'd be safer facing the trials of Beacon Academy than I ever would be within the walls of White Castle." She wiped away a few more tears and took a deep, calming breath.

"That goodbye was the most difficult of all. I could see the doubt, the fear in his eyes as he watched his only daughter, the sole heiress to a legendary legacy, board that jet and commit her life to becoming a huntress. I always hated goodbyes. That's why I never said the words; all I told him as I watched those tears flow for the first time in two and a half years was that I'd see him again soon. He never was one for believing that which he couldn't see though…"

A short silence descended over the duo, the only audible sound was now the faint blast of water hitting either Ruby's body or the shower floor. Blake gulped once more as she built up the courage to speak. "Weiss, I-"

"No..." Weiss said softly yet commandingly. "This isn't an attempt to gain your pity Blake, I've never needed it before and I'll be damned if I let you offer it now." Weiss's voice was now slightly agitated as she got to her feet and moved back over to her own bed, grabbing her combat skirt and a towel before moving to the silent and shocked Blake. "Ruby wouldn't tell me about what she was dreaming about, but one day soon, she WILL need someone to talk to her about it. She can't keep it bottled up forever, it'll destroy her…" she paused for a minute, realising that she had no idea what was actually going through her partner's mind. "I think..." she said questioning herself before snapping her mind back to the issue at hand "Please Blake, for the love of God; please just make sure you're there for her if or when she needs you…"

As if by magic, the minute Weiss finished her rant the shower knob screeched and the shower stopped, moments later and the bathroom door creaked open, introducing a drenched redhead to Weiss and Blake. "I need to grab a shower, do me a favour Blake and TRY and get Yang out of bed…" and with that Weiss stepped into the bathroom leaving Blake and Ruby alone with the still unconscious blonde sister of Ruby's.

Blake offered a small smile to Ruby, whom simply smiled back. _I think we both just want to forget this morning… _evaluated Blake.

The duo remained still for what seemed like an eternity despite it only being a couple of seconds before Ruby glanced back to the bathroom nervously, finally realising that she was still only wearing a towel. The red-haired girl turned to face the door "Wait Weiss, I haven't gotten-" she began before being cut off by the shower once again starting up, her voice grew quieter, and developed into a slight groan "dressed yet…"

Blake laughed, her girlfriend's attention finally switching back to her. "We're all girls here Ruby…" she finally said, taking a surprising amount of pleasure from seeing Ruby flush redder than the shower had left her. "What are you worried your girlfriend might end up seeing you naked?" she asked, a wry smirk crossing her face as an eyebrow raised. Ruby got even redder and stared down at her feet. "It's okay, I'll go make Yang some bacon in the kitchen, I promise not to peek…" she finally relented, a smile still plastered on her face the interaction distracting her from the morning's events thus far.

"Actually, could you leave the room for just a second Blake?" Ruby finally asked earning a quizzical look from her girlfriend who'd moved over to the kitchen area and pulled out some meat from the fridge, placed a few rashers in a pan and was now placing it over the larger of the mini-stoves two hobs.

"Umm… okay…" she finally responded switching the ring on and bringing the bacon sizzling to life before leaving the room. True to her word Ruby called back a few short seconds later which reinforced Blake's questioning over exactly what Ruby could do in such a tiny timeframe. Opening the door she saw that Ruby was still in a towel but had seemingly used it to quickly dry her legs and had slipped on a pair of her signature stockings despite still being drenched from head to assumedly hip. "You are so weird…" she quipped before once more tending the bacon earning a nervous chuckle from Ruby whom had seemingly forgotten the dream.

* * *

Twenty minutes later and everyone was up, ready and waiting. They still had an hour to kill and so Pyrrha and Nora had been invited round whilst Ren and Jaune finished up their own preparations for their mission today. They'd been given a free pass from the two hours of Professor Port lectures Team RWBY would be subject to and had even managed to avoid having to learn about how to plant and grow vegetables. Why they had to learn such stuff was beyond even Weiss whom had already placed her bets on how long Yang would stay awake for before surrendering to her boredom.

The previously heavy atmosphere born of Ruby awakening from a seemingly petrifying nightmare and the resulting talk between Weiss and Blake had dissipated and a light-hearted, warm chatter between the group of girls had took over, blanketing the room in a much lighter mood.

No one had told Yang about what had happened prior to her being woken up with a bacon sandwich, not even Ruby. There were a few tell-tale signs like Blake being unusually close to Ruby, almost as if she was overly protective of the girl or the occasional worried glance Weiss shot her younger partner whenever she believed she could get away with it, but no one would notice them unless they were consciously searching, and Yang wasn't.

Right now everyone was perfectly content enjoying, or at least pretending to listen to Nora's recent tale of how she and Ren both stared down two Deathstalkers before a giant Nevermore plucked one of the Grimm creatures from the ground and flew away with it allowing the eccentric redhead and her calm, collected and quiet partner to deal with the remaining monster. It basically sounded a lot like a more exciting and highly exaggerated version of the initiation, and Weiss assumed that that was exactly what it was… or it was another dream, she could never tell with the resident lunatic unless Ren was around.

Blake had switched off around the time of ursa surfing even though she knew that that was likely the only part of the story that was actually true. It wasn't as if the cat Faunus hated Nora, on the contrary she liked her a lot, more so following the advice she had given the stubborn, denial ridden black beauty many moons ago but even still the redhead was a little grating at times, and this was one of those times. She liked stories; she liked science fiction and fantasy. However if she was going to be subject to such an insane story she'd much rather be reading the actual action scenes from one of her beloved books. One thing caused her ears to perk up though, the mention of the words "cat" and "Faunus" in the same sentence and the gaping mouths of her slack-jawed teammates as their gaze darted from Nora to Pyrrha and back again in worried disbelief.

Nora laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head, the cross-legged girl sliding ever so slightly backwards as if that extra inch of carpet would really make Blake reconsider killing her. "It's alright." said Pyrrha, waving her hands in the air uncaringly "I already know, Nora kind of let it slip a week or so back. I didn't want to say anything until Blake did but…" That was when it finally dawned on Blake that she had yet to properly speak to JNPR since she and Ruby became an item. She also hadn't yet thanked Nora who was now apologising profusely whilst still maintaining that same level of bubbliness despite her worried urgency.

"It's fine Nora, I don't care if Pyrrha knows… or Jaune or Ren for that matter. I've kind of been leaving the bow at home recently anyways." She pulled away the ribbon that had obscured her cat ears ready for the school day to start to reveal a pair of purple cat ears.

"They're actually kind of cute…" said Nora and Pyrrha in unison finally seeing the twitching appendages.

"I get that a lot…" admitted Blake, a hint of pride in her voice.

"That's because they are…"

Blake blushed as Ruby scooted ever so slightly closer, her hand entangling itself in Blake's sea of black hair, her index finger scratching at the fluffy ears. "Not now Ruby…" Blake managed to say between two moans of pleasure.

"Aww…" Ruby said with a pout as she obliged Blake and removed her pale hand from her girlfriend's dark hair. "Later?" she asked in her cutest voice, those silver orbs lighting up with hope.

Blake rolled her eyes. "Sure" she promised with a smile on her face earning an "Oh God…" from Weiss and a laugh from Yang, the busty blonde seemingly taking great pleasure in seeing Ruby play Blake like a fiddle. "Oh, I forgot to thank you for what you told me before all this Chimera business started Nora. It was exactly what I needed to hear… so thank you…"

Nora blushed, a rare, almost unheard of occurrence for the confident and overly energetic girl, Yang was already about to tease the flushed, boisterous redhead but earned an elbow to the ribs from Weiss before she could say anything, the cough and Yang's slightly dramatized keeling over earned a giggle from the embarrassed young woman, bringing the still cheery, if flushed girl, back to her overly cheerful self.

"Well…" Pyrrha finally chipped in. "It's 8:35, those two are probably finished getting ready by now, we should get back…"

Yang had now stood up and sat on Blake's bed, attaching Ember Celica to her wrists and retracting them back into bracelet form. "There are six girls in one room with no boys, I'm willing to bet anything that they are already at the door listening in." joked Yang half-seriously. Weiss scoffed as Nora, Pyrrha and Blake stood up, Ruby frowning as Blake left her side to see out their friends.

"Don't be so vulgar Yang!" scalded Weiss.

"I wasn't being vul-"

"Yeah Ren would never do anything like that!" Nora interrupted the blonde defending her friend and crush.

"Well maybe not but-"

"And neither would Jaune…" Pyrrha huffed as Blake reached for the handle.

"It wasn't meant to be taken-"

"Really Pyrrha?" asked Nora with a grin on her face earning a death stare from her red-haired teammate to which she giggled in response.

"CAN PEOPLE STOP INTERRUPTING ME!" shouted Yang, an almost unnoticeable explosion of fire singing Blake's sheets and slightly charring the blonde girl's school uniform. The group all laughed at the outburst save Blake whom scowled at her combat partner, Pyrrha and Ruby stopped mid-chuckle, inwardly punishing themselves out of guilt. "Oh great…" Yang huffed as Blake opened the door and Ren fell into the room cheering Yang right back up. "SEE!?" she exclaimed.

"REN!?" the majority of the girls said in unison.

"You've got to be kidding me…" muttered Weiss in disbelief, her thumb and forefinger pinching the bridge of her nose as Ren scrambled to his feet. "What are you doing?" she questioned, her hand now rubbing down the side of her cheek as the usually innocent, calm and perfect student brushed himself down.

"I TOLD HIM NOT TO DO IT!" came a rushed shout from across the hall.

"Well!?" asked Weiss with false impatience, she was not truly that bothered about Ren's eavesdropping since they weren't talking about anything too private considering Blake's openness to the boys finding out about her Faunus heritage but she still enjoyed the opportunity to finally make him feel uncomfortable.

"I umm…" began Ren, her gaze avoiding the six girls as he thought up an excuse. "Came to tell Nora and Pyrrha that… that the briefing's about to start. Yeah. That."

"NO HE DIDN'T!" yelled Jaune again.

Ren was now earning slightly judging stares from the group. "I actually did..." he repeated before going on the defensive "And don't act like none of you guys would spy on six girls… Not that I did that or anything..." His lips stretched into a smile as Blake, Ruby, Yang and Nora looked down at the ground, as if hanging their heads in non-existent shame.

Weiss glanced around, sighing and shaking her head at the four girls "Savages…"


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: **Has it really been a week since I last posted an update? I've been so busy that I barely noticed. Anyways part of the reason it took so long was that I decided to re-run through Chapters 1 to 11 myself, running a last proof-read, making a few changes where I think the wording can be improved and just generally reminding myself of the established lore of the story and a few character interactions, the update for those should be live now, not that it's of any real worth to anyone who's already on Chapter 12. As a side not the next chapter is also almost finished and should be up tomorrow. Oh yeah story time, here's Chapter 12: Read, enjoy, follow/fave if you like it, review if you want.

**Chapter 12 – The Calm Before Part 1**

"30 minutes out Team Juniper, recommend you finish preparations."

The pilot of course was being presumptuous, unlike Team RWBY, Team JNPR were at least slightly more organised and usually Jaune always had a plan before they even set foot on the Bullhead which the rest of his team would perfect during the flight. Nothing had changed, they still had a plan.

"OK guys here's our final plan…" the blonde haired male began, Nora scooted to the edge of her seat excitedly before Ren planted a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back ever so slightly for safety's sake. "Pyrrha… what's the plan again?" Jaune asked his partner. The only difference between what had occurred on the majority of previous missions was that the plan in question wasn't actually Jaune's…

He was a capable leader and had excelled as a field commander, but he still found himself doubting his own decisions when it came to major operations like this, and that's where he found himself appreciating Pyrrha more than anything. She was always there for him, she was the reason he was as good he was, there was still room for improvement-that much was evident in this very situation, he just didn't believe he could think up a better plan than Pyrrha could when it came to infiltration or major assault missions-but he owed everything that he had become, and everything that he now believed he would day be-to his friends at Beacon, Pyrrha most of all.

The redhead chuckled and shifted forward slightly, joining Jaune and Nora as Ren stayed in his seat following protocol. The amazoness warrior pulled out a black mission scroll and pulled it open, the blueprints immediately visible to the rest of her team. "Right so Glynda believes that any data destroyed several weeks ago during Team RWBY's attack on the first White Fang base was in fact automatically uploaded to a remote location... this location. The layout and structure appears identical though slightly scaled up in size. You should all have familiarised yourselves with the blueprints." She cast a glance to Jaune whom gulped. "If not then we will be travelling in pairs anyways." Jaune visibly relaxed with a "phew" and wiping imaginary sweat off of his fore brow.

"Why are we splitting up?" enquired Ren, his eyes fixated on the scroll as he took in the information one more time.

"Because Ruby and friends kicked the hornets' nest and the White Fang have stepped up their security. I'm not sure if that was due to the Chimera attack or the Beacon attack but there are a lot of bodies down there." Pyrrha tapped the screen and the image on the scroll shifted off the screen to the left and a personnel list popped up in its place. "We can't afford getting into a gauntlet once we're inside so we need to keep this quiet for as long as humanly possible." She spared a single glance to Nora this time, the eccentric girl's face dropping as she groaned. "Ren you're in charge of Magnhild, Nora doesn't get to use it until after everything goes to hell."

"After?" Nora enquired, a worryingly sinister and curious tone in her voice and a devilish grin on her face as she handed her grenade launcher to her partner, the grey and pink weapon attaching to Ren's back. "I can live with that."

Pyrrha shrugged off the obviously plotting grin, it was a Nora Classic after all, every time she wasn't allowed to embrace her inner psychopath she would secretly spend forty minutes plotting out exactly how to create a situation where she could. She'd yet to actually follow through with any of these plans of course… at least she hadn't so far. _I wonder if all these stories are genuinely her misremembering events because her mind pays no attention to detail… _Pyrrha analysed to herself.

"Good. Now when we get inside, it's the usual teams: Nora, Ren you're going to be taking their ventilation system, it should be relatively quiet and easy and will also be the path of least resistance so hopefully you will avoid a situation in which Nora not having her weapon on hand is an issue… even if things do go south relatively quickly." Pyrrha turned back to her own partner, the admirable and brave warrior in training looked slightly uneasy so the girl gave him a reassuring smile. "Jaune, you're with me, we'll be heading through the main complex so keep your guard up and follow my lead." She turned back to face her team as a whole, her voice growing more confident and encouraging by the second. "Everyone keep your auras in check, we can't afford for them to flare up or be up the entire time. Keep things quiet and hopefully we'll be gone before anyone notices."

"Aww…"

"But you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men..." she teased with a warm smile to her fellow redhead.

"That they often go-" Nora halted in her response, her face lighting up even more. "Ohh…" she exclaimed, the excitement returning.

"25 minutes out."

Jaune gave a nod in the pilot's general direction, out of pointless courtesy since the guy couldn't see him anyways, nor would he respond even he could. "Okay guys, double check your equipment and we'll go through the plan one last time before we arrive. We'll be hitting the ground close-by so as not to arouse any suspicion and working our way around the outer perimeter to avoid the main guard force, hopefully this key code is right… If not WE" he emphasised that last part whilst sparing a friendly nod over to Pyrrha, the duo exchanging smiles much to the delight of Nora and the nonchalance of Ren "have a few ideas…"

* * *

"You ready Ruby?" Blake asked. She was stood on one side of the massive arena floor that made up the majority of the training grounds available to students of Beacon. Her posture was perfect, her back arched forward slightly to provide a better centre of gravity, her legs spaced equal length from the centre of her body offering unwavering balance. Her hands were clenched ever so tenderly around the hilt of her cleaver, the cool breeze let in by the still open door gently blowing jet black curls around a focussed face, near expressionless save for a slight curl of her lips as she looked at her opponent with minute happiness, joy and pride.

"Always…" replied Ruby. The younger girl was stood slightly hunched over, as if ready to dash forward at any moment, her right arm lay over the shaft of Crescent Rose, her left arm draped over it with a finger on the trigger. Usually bountiful silver orbs were narrowed as she locked onto her partner and opponent, the concentration imbued in them betrayed by her too stiff posture. Blake's smile faded.

"All right then…" Blake said with a minor hint of reluctance before putting on a much better mask, her voice lying better than Ruby's ever could as she feigned excited enthusiasm "Let's do this!"

With that the sound of Crescent Rose firing off ear-piercing shot after ear-piercing shot rang through the air as Ruby charged forward at a conventionally unmatched speed, her eyes narrowed further, safe in knowing that she only had one enemy and that she could focus entirely on it. When she was inches away from her girlfriend's body she swung her scythe, wrapping the blade around the spot her partner was stood, enclosing the small space with the sharpened blade.

"Gotcha!" Ruby yelled excited only to realise that there was nothing trapped between her body and her weapon, she grimaced as that same image from the night before flashed through her mind, she didn't even move when she felt a blade kiss her neck and Blake didn't celebrate the easy victory, she just frowned at her almost paralysed partner.

"Ruby?" she asked anxiously, concern growing inside her when she received no reply. "Ruby!?" she asked again, her blade dropping to the floor as she spun the girl round so the pair were face to face. "RUBY!?" she asked again, her voice now a shout, concern building even higher still. "RUBY SNAP OUT OF IT!" she finally commanded with a screech and a slap, her girlfriend's face snapping to the left before slowly turning back to face the amber eyed black beauty, giving the occasional blink before taking in her surroundings. "Ruby?" Blake asked again, giving Ruby a caring kiss on the undoubtedly sore cheek, as if she were a mother treating a child's grazed knee.

Ruby's face reddened, leaving the imprint of Blake's hand where previously flawless, pale skin once existed. "What? Where?" Ruby tried to find the words to phrase a question she didn't even know she wanted to ask. "Blake?" she finally said before being pulled into a tight embrace.

"Don't EVER do that again…" Blake scalded "ESPECIALLY not when you're in the middle of a battle, if this was real you'd be-" she cut herself off, not willing to say the word before gazing directly into Ruby's eyes, her hands rising to hold each side of Ruby's head, soft skin meeting soft skin, burning amber meeting… sorrowful silver? The older girl bit the right side of her lower lip nervously, not entirely certain whether she wanted to find out the answer to her next question, just knowing that she couldn't run from it forever "Ruby… what the hell is going on with you lately?"

* * *

It had been fortunately easy to gain entrance into the facility, the majority of the guard force had, as expected, been watching over the main entrance, one of the only three entrances into the compound. The second entrance was a no-go; it was a garage door that only opened from the inside. The third and final entrance was exactly what they were looking for; and their target in the first place. It was a small little side door assumedly used for smoke breaks or smuggling out high value individuals depending on how sinister the White Fang were feeling that particular day. It was locked by a key code which for some odd reason was "key code".

"In their defense, if I was attempting to break into a heavily guarded fortress of the most powerful organisation known of a species… I wouldn't even think to try "key code"… it's too… obvious." Ren commented, seemingly fascinated by the White Fang's train of thought.

"AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT BRILLIANT!" shouted Nora before Jaune put a hand across her back, pulled her low to the ground and made hushing noises. A tense silence clung over Team JNPR, save some quiet giggles from the orange-haired hammer wielder as they waited for the all-clear. The door was unlocked but also unopened, and Nora had already almost jeopardised the mission, if even one person came to check out the noise there was a high chance they'd notice the unlocked door and trip the alarm. After around fifteen seconds of silence they finally heard the voices of two operatives.

"Did you hear that?"

"It was probably just another drill."

"Dude, the drill doesn't sound like that."

"How do you know? Perhaps it's a drill testing whether or not we can differentiate between the drill and the actual alarm. Relax, if we were being attacked there'd be explosions…. and the alarm…"

"Okay…. What if THAT was the alarm?"

"Then it's a drill, and nothing's happening…"

"How do you know?"

"Is anything happening?"

"Uh… no?"

"That's how I know…"

"Phew." finally said Pyrrha, gripping Milo in javelin form in one hand before leaving the bush they had hidden themselves in just in case someone did come to investigate. _Because clearly no one would think to look in the only actual hiding place if we did rouse suspicion… That's Nora for you… _the redhead inwardly quipped, secretly enjoying her best girl friend's sideways logic.

"Come on let's go." Ren had already slipped out of the small bush and pushed the door open, checking whether the coast was clear with Stormflower before beckoning his team inside. The interior itself was surprisingly nice, considering Beacon administration believed the White Fang base to also be a research facility everyone on Team JNPR expected it to be white walls, white floor tiles, possibly a few corpses and at least two or three experimented on creatures or humans. After all the majority of what they had done to Beacon up to this point had "classic bad guy from terrible B movies" written all over it, except for the fact that the White Fang hadn't lost yet…

What greeted them was half-black, half-white walls with red stripes dissecting it into four equal sections, a black and white tiled floor and the same style of furniture as could be seen in the more formal buildings around Beacon: chairs, water fountains, vending machines, lockers, plants, bins. Everything about the place, apart from its ugly overemphasis on the colours of black, white and red was incredibly normal.

"Too normal…" Nora said dramatically, her eyes narrowing at nothing in particular as the foursome arrived at a vent, the first of many that Nora and Ren would be forced to traipse through, much to Ren's unspoken of dismay. "Okay Ren, let's go, we need to stick together… but not together-together…" Ren cracked a sly smile as his polar opposite entered the small hole.

"Good luck." Pyrrha called as she and Jaune checked whether or not the coast was clear which it was.

"Keep it." Ren said with a confident smirk, the young man in his element. "You'll be the one's fighting everyone else if things DO go wrong…"

"And yet I'm more scared of Nora…" the redhead shot back with a laugh, if there was one thing she owed Jaune for it was his confidence, he practically oozed it in social situations and, false or not, it really did more for Pyrrha than she could ever do for herself in terms of breaking the child prodigy out of her shell. Sure she still messed up her fair share of conversations but she had developed a humorous and snarky side and she owed that to Jaune. Or perhaps she didn't, after all the duo was always there for one another. This hadn't been a game of social exchanges for a long time, there was genuine altruism there, and Pyrrha wouldn't have it any other way… well she could think of one particularly appealing alternative…

* * *

"For the last time Blake, everything is fine, I promise. I'm just… not exactly feeling excited about training…" defended Ruby for the hundredth time, her girlfriend really wasn't letting the issue drop, she loved her for that, because deep down she wanted to let her fears pour out. To just let everything be put on hold so that someone can put her at ease, to tell her she was an idiot and that she needed to think positively. The only reason she wouldn't confide in Blake, the single person she was meant to trust more than anyone in the world, was because Blake wasn't that person, not right now at least…

"Fine." Blake finally surrendered with a sigh, the defeated tone in the usual resolute Faunus's voice grabbing Ruby's attention. The duo had done little but stand around in the middle of the arena repeating the same identical exchange for the last five minutes. The older girl had been getting more and more frustrated with her younger partner and this white flag was the first actual evidence of Blake letting the topic drop. Ruby was slightly pained by this, since she was essentially doing the self-same thing to Blake as she had yelled at Weiss for but no matter how much she wanted to confide she just couldn't, not to Blake, not to anyone from Team RWBY, and given the subject matter she couldn't exactly speak to Ozpin, Professor Port or Team JNPR either.

"But if everything is fine then we need to keep practising, you may not have noticed but we're kind of in a combat school." Blake joked as she strolled off the arena floor.

"Emphasis on the school..." Ruby joked offhandedly temporarily mesmerised by Blake's sultry, sashaying hips that she had first seen during day one at the academy. It seemed almost natural to Blake and, considering her girlfriend's response to anything minutely provocative or sensual Blake was either effortlessly alluring, or was more of a minx than she let on, and Ruby didn't mind either way.

She could hear the faint, sweet, once more concerned voice of her partner from half a room away"Ruby? Hello? Is anybody in there?" She blinked a few times, pulling herself from her thoughts. _What is going on with me today? I don't daydream or get distracted; at least not outside of class, okay at least not on the battlefield… _

"Oh, sorry about that kitty." She got a low growl from Blake and elicited her own sweet giggle; she'd noticed recently that Blake tended to use her more animalistic nature to respond to her when the cat Faunus wasn't actually being serious, if she was genuinely mad at the redheaded teen then Ruby would know it. "It's not my fault you're distracting with those magnificent legs…" The raven-haired woman blushed, for some reason only Ruby could have that effect on her with simple compliments, something she was secretly proud of.

"So, before I lose you again Ruby it's time for simulation bot training." She gulped down a lump of fear in her throat, if Ruby hesitated against these enemies, unlike Blake they wouldn't hesitate back. They weren't programmed to kill but Ozpin, likely at the recommendation of Port had decided that the best way to ensure that no one forgets their mistakes was to give them a taste of exactly what would result from it. Ruby's life wasn't in danger but her body was, and possibly her mind if she let a loss to the sim bots get the better of her. "You ready Ruby?"

_No. _"Sure." she said gripping her weapon once more as that all-too-familiar gate at the back of arena dropped down and five robots stepped out, she took in each of them:

Two Alphas which were armed with a sword on one arm and a shield on the other hand with its left hand replaced with a machine gun, they were nimble and quite intelligent; one Beta which was the most worrying unit, it had cloaking technology and there armament was similar to the AK-130 save for short-range shotguns replacing the machine guns; one Iota which was the least worrying unit, it was just a fortress with a rocket launcher after, little more than a bullet sponge which kept slower targets on the move; the final unit was an Epsilon model, a repair bot for the most part, considering the hyper-aggressive tendencies of the Alphas and Beta models it would likely hang by the tank and keep the already durable bullet sponge functional even longer.

Ruby slowed her breathing, genuinely a little scared of the five robots due to her mind's recent habit of wandering and making her think of exactly what she hated and feared most. _Keep calm Ruby, you've defeated this exact simulation before, you can do it again, if anything happens then Blake is right there _Ruby visibly flinched, earning a quizzical stare from Blake that went unnoticed by Team RWBY's leader _Okay Ruby; you can do this. _"Begin the simulation Blake."

"Armour lock deactivated, you're the sole target. Good luck."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: The Calm Before Part II**

Nora wasn't exactly thrilled with Ren's newest plan, mostly because it involved her being left alone behind enemy lines without something to cause explosions with. The duo had come across a locked door and Ren had made for the security room which meant that Nora was sitting around in a vent doing nothing, if anyone walked past and noticed the orange, pink, white or black colour that wasn't supposed to be in there they'd all be busted.

Nora was also a little unnerved, she was still weaponless and there were two operatives heading her way, the faint voices in the distance becoming louder and clearer with each footstep that placed them closer to the vent. The mission threatened to go south quicker than anyone had anticipated, even Nora in her own fantasies.

The redhead had taken to holding her breath but any actually movement would grab their presently divided attention. All the usually hyperactive girl could do was sit in silence and hope that the patrol passed without finding her, her only distractions from the situation at hand being the situation at hand itself as the two operatives talked between themselves, seemingly unbelieving that anyone would even be within the facility. _Hopefully that also means that they aren't paying enough attention to their surroundings…_

"What are we even doing here Charles? You and I both know that the White Fang sold out, we shouldn't be working with humans, our scientists shouldn't be under human command, and there expendability certainly shouldn't be left to the whims of that Torchwick psychopath!" Nora found herself quite amused at the White Fang, a group of homicidal thieves, considering Torchwick insane, it really said a lot about the criminal scum that she had heard so much about as of late.

"You're preaching to the choir Evans, I don't like this anymore than you do, but the chief is smart, he wouldn't be doing this if he didn't have a plan, hell he's spent the last half a decade targeting humanity, he wouldn't sell his soul unless it was worth it. I can feel the winds of change already…" Nora now found herself gulping, speculation of the White Fang's ulterior motives were rampant after the Vytal Festival attack but it was a whole different experience to hear the White Fang themselves discussing it, an unnerving experience that chilled her to the bone.

Finally the familiar grey masks they had taken to the wearing flashed by the vent. "Wait." Nora gulped again, before resorting back to holding her breath. "What was that?" Nora could hear footsteps returning to the vent.

"What was what?" asked the second operative, Nora's body curled slightly to minimise exposure before tensing, seizing all motion so as to not make a sound. The face of the first soldier appeared before Nora once more; an evil grin lighting up his face as he gazed between the thin metal strips at the intruder.

"We've got comp-" a loud thud was heard as Nora watched the man's skull get slammed into the steel vent covering, she could hear little else save for the second operative now entering close combat with a still unidentified individual. The redhead remained in the shaft, unmoving as she remembered Ren's every word, he told her not to move and that's exactly what she'd do. Eventually another slam was heard before nothing but silence enveloped the area.

"Ren?" she finally asked quietly whilst moving closer to the vent exit and peering out. There was no one to be seen save for two unconscious bodies left lying out in plain view. The hiss of the door was heard as it unlocked and opened, her favourite hero in green stepping through his eyes widening upon taking in the scene.

"Nora? What have you been doing?" he asked in a worried, frustrated and yet still light-hearted tone.

"You mean that wasn't you?" the redhead asked, finally kicking the vent open and dropping out. Ren just shook his head in response as Nora glanced around once more in search of the mysterious assailant. "Whoever it was couldn't have gotten far…" Ren placed a single, calm hand on her shoulder, fingers slightly massaging her skin through her combat gear.

"Whoever it is Nora, they're the enemy of our enemy… that may also makes them a friend." Nora calmed slightly, the pleasant and relaxing massage helping her to ease up as she nodded.

"Yeah hopefully…" There was a slight tone of worry in her voice before her eyes widened, excitement that caused even Ren to smile burning within a pair of orange seas. "AND IF NOT I CAN BREAK THEY'RE LEGS!"

Ren shook his head, eliciting a rare chuckle at his nutty best friend. "Yes Nora… Yes you can…"

* * *

The atmosphere was tense, Jaune knew that much at least. Here they were in the middle of a White Fang base, at least a dozen squads of armed guards patrolling the corridors, even more outside. Pyrrha as expected, was dead silent, entirely concentrated on the matter at hand, the only thoughts on her mind being exit strategies, orientation and the safety of the rest of her-Jaune's- team.

"Can you hear that?" he finally asked shakily, speaking for the first time in several minutes now that the sound of someone's head being slammed into steel echoed through the corridors and had already broken the silence.

"Ren and Nora must be close by, good that means they're on track." Jaune hated when Pyrrha got like this, for the most part she was carefree, awkward, friendly and lovable. In a mission she was near unapproachable, completion of the mission at hand with minimised casualties often becoming her sole focus. The blonde could respect that, it kind of had to be that way, becoming complacent was a sure way to give the enemy the upper hand, and yet at times it came off as bossy and cold.

Pyrrha had spared him a single glance as she waited patiently for another guard to pass, her hand up commanding her leader to stop momentarily. She gave a knowing nod and an apologetic smile, her eyes shining with hope and reassurance that warmed Jaune and helped him steel himself one last time. _Okay, so maybe she isn't entirely distant and "old school Weiss" during missions… _The male spared a glance around the corner he and his partner were hidden behind _no sign of the White Fang anymore. _"Thanks Pyrrha…" he said stepping away from the wall he had pressed himself against.

"For what?" the red-haired teammate asked, genuinely uncertain, she was just doing her job to make sure her team was on top form after all. She kept her voice soft and nurturing knowing just how aggressive those two words can sound with the wrong tone accompanying them.

Pyrrha grabbed her teammate by the arm and pulled him up before walking ahead by just a few paces, her weapon now in rifle form as she checked and double checked every corner, door and nook the pair passed as they continued. "Uh… nothing, well everything but…" Jaune replied nervously any words to explain his simple meaning to Pyrrha escaping him at that single moment. "We should keep moving, the lab can't be too far-" Jaune stopped in his tracks, Pyrrha continued to walk ahead, gun now trained on the single exit to the long corridor they had been walking down.

Approaching the door Pyrrha reached out tentatively. Her right hand began to glow black to better support the heavy rifle currently being gripped solely by it as her left hand punched in the code they had previously used to get into the complex itself. A buzz sounded out as a message appeared on the screen "Error: Incorrect Code".

"Of course that wasn't going to work, you should really know better…" The voice was muffled slightly and Jaune was initially confused at the odd tone whilst Pyrrha pressed herself closer to the door itself. "The password is "Chimera"" _Chimera? Why Chimera? _The duo both thought simultaneously before both being dragged out of their inward suspicious questioning by the voice from behind the door "And you are welcome… Please don't be afraid of me, just come on in." The redheaded amazoness shot a single glance to Jaune, the blonde now breathing slightly heavier than before as he began to feel that familiar anxious fear that to him just screamed "coward".

"You're not the only one Jaune…" reassured Pyrrha, her voice softer than it had even been before when in a combat situation. "But we need to do this." Her partner's eyes closed as the owner practised breathing exercises for a few short moments before nodding; his eyes opening once more to show that usual bravery; the once nervous and scared boy once again become that steely valiant warrior that Pyrrha helped him become.

"Let's do this." He finally said, Pyrrha flashing him a confident smirk before turning to the door, steeling herself and punching in the code: C-H-I-M-E-R-A. Another buzz was heard minutely different to the previous one, the signal light turned green and the door clicked open granting the hunters-in-training access.

The inside of the laboratory was much more reminiscent of what Team JNPR had originally expected the entirety of the White Fang base to look like. White washed walls, slate coloured slightly rough but smooth-looking flooring, surgical and medical equipment strewn about the place almost haphazardly as countless machines and monitors displayed data. The extremity of the gore however was far beyond any of the young warriors' imaginations.

Blood was smeared across nearly every surface, the black substance that had become synonymous with the creatures of Grimm stained the medical equipment, the clear objects of their usage idly left in a pile in the corner like common junk

Pyrrha and Jaune gasped in horror as they entered, their eyes taking in the environment before finally settling on the pods lining the walls, most were murky or foggy with no hint at what was contained within aside from the sounds coming from the pod itself telling them that whatever it was, it was still alive. A few of the clearer pods gave them a few hints as well. The most notable was a Nevermore, one wing entirely severed being kept alive, the stitched up flesh where the old appendage was ripped off clearly far smaller than the remaining wing which continued growing.

Finally in the room they allowed the door to freely shut behind them as Pyrrha spied a pair of shadows behind a green hospital curtain. One body, seemingly that of a beowolf was draped across what looked to be an operating table of some sort. A single human or Faunus, likely Faunus seemingly enjoying his sick experiment more than Pyrrha believed a sane person should have been.

The redhead continued walking forward, the faint sound of Milo mechanically shifting back into javelin form being heard as she slowly approached the curtain, Jaune merely a few feet behind her, Crocea Mors at the ready. "Not another step." came that same voice, now undisturbed by the medium of steel it was previously travelling through. The voice echoed in the furnished room, a testament to the sheer size of the laboratory space granted to what looked to be a single researcher.

"What's going on here?" the duo asked false confidence hiding resurfacing horror.

"Research!" shouted the shadow, seemingly at least slightly agitated before calming "I'd have thought two hunters capable of infiltrating a White Fang facility would know that much at the very least." The shadow finally peered up, setting down whatever tool it was previously using to dissect the creature of Grimm, the head looked directly at the curtain, seemingly taking in the two figures.

"But perhaps I am giving you too much credit, as I did my superiors." He finally walked around the table he had previously been using for his research and walked up to the curtain, the redhead girl and blonde boy taking up a combat stance as the shadow grew closer, the green curtain being pulled away slightly offering Jaune a single glimpse at the clearly still alive and half-butchered beowolf.

The researcher was a tall, lithe man, a white lab coat, coated red with blood and black with the residue of dead Grimm covered a blood-stained suit made up of grey trousers, a blue shirt, a red and black striped tie and a simple brown belt. His face showed small signs of aging. His lips were curled into an excited and curious grin, his eyes which were aflame with hope and likely brilliant but psychopathic ideas were locked tightly on his two newest arrivals, his hair was blonde and slicked back, a pair of goat horns protruded from his forehead, curling up to over his skull.

He studied the pair thoroughly, Jaune and Pyrrha exchanging their own glances to one another as each evaluated the doctor in front of them before the research himself laughed for a few short seconds. "Or perhaps you are students of Beacon? In which case I do not give you enough credit… the name is Dr. Mei Boswell; I'm a freelance researcher, now unless you have any questions I have work to be done…"

The doctor waited a few moments, the young pair still studying his simple form before frowning at the hesitance of the Beacon students and beginning to turn away from them. Before he took his first step however Jaune spoke up, his voice working where Pyrrha's failed. "Just a few actually…" The doctor's lips curled into a smile.

"Very well… I am a freelancer after all…" he turned to face the duo once more "let's parlé."

* * *

"Target identified, opening fire." Iota said with a flange before launching a rocket, the single explosive separating into multiple, all of which impacting the ground Ruby HAD been standing on. Ruby dropped out her still full clip and replaced it with her more powerful variant and slammed the blade of Crescent Rose into the ground. With a few quick trigger pulls and necessary rotation of her weapon Ruby created a miniature trench at the cost of only four bullets.

The idea was that Beta would hesitate upon trying to the traverse the gorge whilst the far more agile Alphas would come at her, preferably with both being blown to pieces before Iota began to take aim. For the most part that was what happened, Beta faded into invisibility and the Alpha units charged in the first being met with a round to the chest, decommissioning it early. However the Iota's reload speed had been modified since the last simulation, it already had another rocket loaded and had already loosed it. Ruby positioned the scythe to face the floor and fired, her body propelling into the air as a volley of missiles exploded at her original location.

As she descended her scythe changed form, the young freefalling girl taking aim at the second Alpha. The robot easily avoiding the shots as it jumped across the small groove in the ground and readied itself for Ruby's landing. Ruby's feet hit the ground for just a split second before her body was racked with pain, the robot slamming its arm shield into her sending the human flying several feet before hitting the ground hard. "RUBY!" called Blake, her eyes scanning around for Beta whilst sparing worried glances at Iota.

The whistle of yet another missile volley was heard; Ruby attempted to roll away but was still caught in the explosions, once more her body jumped several more feet before rolling involuntary. Ruby let out a cough before looking up, the barely noticeable outline of Beta visible mere three feet away, reaching for her scythe she pulled the trigger, the force sending her body back several feet, the momentum being converted into inertia before she landed back on her feet.

Quickly taking in the distance between herself and Beta's last known location, as well the fact that Alpha was still on her old strip of land she took a chance and headed towards Iota, easily dodging the relatively unthreatening Epsilon unit's shock baton before tearing her blade across the armour of the juggernaut. The clear wound caused sparks but did little else as it stomped down on the ground. Ruby easily avoided the attack before wrapping the blade around the leg and pulling the trigger, the scythe ripping clean through one of Iota's only two supports causing the robot to fall.

Now however she was surrounded. She flared her aura slightly, what few actual cuts and grazes she had healing as she detected Beta still stalking around on the outskirts. Alpha lunged forward, its sword contacting Ruby's scythe before it was parried buying Ruby much needed time to duck beneath the shock bat but not enough to allow her to avoid the machine gun, the bullet punctured her thigh and caused her to stagger allowing Epsilon to slam its shock baton into her back. "RUBY!" called Blake again, gripping Gambol Shroud as she witnessed her girlfriend get cut by the Alpha unit.

"I'M FINE!" the redhead called out doing little to calm Blake's fretting. Ruby did have a plan however; one reminiscent of their White Fang assault. Firing her sniper scythe the young teen slid backwards, her aura now flaring uncontrollably, a clear sign that she wasn't concentrating hard enough. The Beta was now right behind the Iota unit and would have likely ended the fight there and then if she wasn't aware of his presence. Alpha dashed forward, keeping the distance between it and Ruby closed, Ruby smiled as the Epsilon unit took to healing the Iota unit, the Iota unit itself opened fire, yet another volley of missiles homing on Ruby which Ruby dodged at the last second causing the explosive to obliterate the Alpha unit.

The Epsilon was soon caught off-guard and ripped in half by Crescent Rose but not before it manage to fix the leg of the Iota unit, something that went unnoticed by the not 100% focussed Ruby which booted her half-way cross the room, winding her and causing her to stagger back to her feet. Blake looked on anxiously, just waiting for a moment in which she'd be needed, she wouldn't let Ruby get hospitalised by these things.

Iota fired another volley, another quick time evasion by Ruby allowing her to keep her distance whilst also keeping away from the Beta unit which was relatively slow whilst cloaked and poor range, still scary when your aura wasn't activated, and right now Ruby's was failing her, flickering in and out of life giving her brief ideas of its location. She dropped out the empty sniper clip and reloaded with a cross clip before dashing forward, firing shot after shot, each round blasting into the heavy armour plating of the slow but durable Iota bot.

Once the Beta was close enough to attack her she climbed aboard her scythe and fired, placing yet more distance between them. The Iota however anticipated her move and she was struck by her second volley of rockets that day. Her aura finally flickered out as she lined up a headshot on Iota and pulled the trigger, the high powered round blowing its head to smithereens.

The redhead glanced around nervously in search of that faint outline. Blake checked the monitor. _She's still in the yellow… _Whilst impressive that she was able to take such punishment it was also worrying, Ruby wasn't using her aura despite physically being able too. She wasn't focussed. Flaring her own aura Blake quickly located the Beta robot… right behind Ruby… Clearing the balcony Blake dashed forward, shadow jumping her way over to Ruby. "RUBY BEHIND YOU!" she warned, Ruby ducking out of the way of two shotgun shells before Gambol Shroud ripped right through the robot's abdomen. Breathing heavily Blake checked over her girlfriend frantically, it didn't look like any of it was heavy damage save perhaps the bullet wound but it at least didn't go through nor shatter. It would come out whole and her aura should patch her up quickly enough.

"Okay Ruby, you're going to tell me EXACTLY what is going on in that head of yours. What aren't you telling me?" No response. "Come on, whatever it is that has you so distracted you don't have to face it alone…" She began shaking now as Blake embraced her, the young and feisty redhead struggling against the comforting hug. "Please Ruby; make this my burden too…"

Finally Blake got a response, one that caused tears to well in her eyes "I can't… I'm sorry…" Her eye lids sealed shut as if to prevent the fluid from escaping. _This is about Ruby; self-pity can wait…_

"Of course you can, I-We: myself, Weiss, Yang, Team Juniper, Beacon-we will ALWAYS be there for you no matter what…" she pulled away from Ruby the still struggling teen finally settling as Blake placed her hands on Ruby's shoulders, her thumbs gently massaging Ruby's neck. "You won't ever have to face the world alone Ruby, I promise I won't let you…"

Ruby's next words made Blake's blood run cold, a chill running through her as she was finally let into her girlfriend's mind. "But can you keep it?"

* * *

The dorm had become far too quiet, far too often as of late. That was one of the few things Yang hated about her sister falling in love with the girl whom Yang now considered to be her best friend. Once again she was left alone with Weiss. They had made little progress on their friendship since the blonde let her in on her secret, a story she had told for the first time ever but a short while ago.

Right now Weiss was slightly out of character, she was lounging on her bed in her nightdress watching the TV, idly flicking from one terrible program to the next. She wasn't ignoring Yang per se but she certainly wasn't inviting conversation and that extended treatment had begun to deter her from continuing her pursuit of being anything more than acquaintances and teammates with the heiress.

_People can work together effectively as badass crime-fighting acquaintances right? _Yang questioned herself, carefully eying up the near-porcelain girl whom was in contrast paying no attention to her teammate. _What are you thinking Yang, you can do this, you're lovable; you can break through Weiss's hard outer shell. Ruby did it, so you can to… _"So…" Weiss's steel blue eyes shifted to gaze at the second body in the room, acknowledging it's presence for the first time since beginning her now finished homework assignments two hours ago. "This is becoming a recurring thing, isn't it?"

"Yes…" Weiss replied trying to hide the clear sound of it coming from between gritted teeth but failing and earning a smile from Yang who was lay down on Blake's bed, head propped up by her hand, her body turned to face Weiss's.

"Is that... jealousy I hear Weiss?" the blonde teased, her grin widening as she barely contained a laugh at the sound of Weiss scoffing.

"Oh please, what would I have to be jealous of? Ruby and Blake are training; they're hardly going to be having the time of their lives." Weiss defended herself, flicking through a few more channels before giving up "Goddamnit! There's never anything decent on when you need it!" Yang's eyebrows raised the girl finally succumbing to her humorous side as she giggled at Weiss. "What?" the heiress asked, her tone surprisingly not icy, replaced with a rare dry curiosity.

The blonde quickly recovered from her small spurt of laughter. "Oh it's just" she paused for a minute, re-thinking her approach and deciding to ignore the opportunity for friendly mocking. "You miss them don't you?"

"No why would I-" Weiss stopped herself _I did say no more lying... _"Okay fine, maybe I miss them a little…" the Schnee daughter shifted her body, finally extricating herself from the comfortable position she had been in for the last forty minutes and instead choosing to take a pose similar to Yang's, deciding it was slightly more social than her previous_._

Yang let out a small laugh again, a wry smirk on her face as Weiss's eyes narrowed suspiciously, noticing the gaze Yang stopped herself "You're cute when you're honest." Weiss scoffed again and Yang once again chuckled before noting that slight look of loneliness in Weiss's eyes. "Switch to channel 364…" With nothing better to do the white-haired girl input the channel number, a music channel being displayed.

"Ooh, what a coincidence it's on next… I love that tune." Yang said as Weiss studied the screen, the song playing right now was just a generic pop song. The song to be played next was titled "Golden", Weiss didn't recognise it. A minute later it began to play it was an entirely instrumental pop track, much catchier than the last and strangely soothing considering its genre. After about thirty seconds it finally clicked exactly where she'd heard it before, or rather something similar: The beat of the track was identical to the beat Yang followed whilst singing to Ruby back when she was in a coma.

The track began to loop back around to the opening as Yang final sung.

"Dream of anything; I'll make it all come true." Weiss found Yang's voice strangely soothing, the melodic and beautiful singing voice warming her slightly. "Everything you need is all I'll have for you." _So this is what it must be like being Ruby… _Weiss let herself melt back into her mattress, the comfy material melding to her form as she just listened to Yang. "I'm forever always by your side. Whenever you need a friend, I'm never far behind."

They continued like that for four minutes, Weiss just lay there unmoving, content to finally have someone else there for her, the snow white girl playing the role of younger sister whilst Yang sang her heart out. And then it ended, so suddenly and yet Weiss couldn't complain, for the last five minutes, and for moments to follow she had not spared a single thought to any single stress in her life, she just listened and enjoyed the soothing song. "Your voice is beautiful Yang…"she finally said whilst turning down the volume of the television now that a new song had begun to play.

"Um… thanks…" responded the blonde, clearly not used to getting compliments on her singing since Ruby had come to grow accustomed to the voice over the last twelve years and Weiss was the first other person she'd sang to. "You know Weiss we don't have to be strangers to one another, it may have been a song I made for Ruby long ago but the words still hold true here." She suddenly got a little shy, something Weiss grinned at, drinking in the sight of the rarely embarrassed Yang. "We could you know… be friends…"

"You dunce…" Weiss began, the busty brawler flinching at the insult "of course we're friends..."

The blonde looked back up, her head previously docking out of usually unseen shyness. "Wait what?" But we never spend any time together…"

Weiss grimaced at that, it was true after all that she'd not exactly invited Yang into her life and recently she had been concerning herself with her own problems whenever the funny, if annoying and inappropriate golden haired fighter made any attempt to socialise. "Then let's" she said with a smile, Yang returning it in kind, reverting back to her boisterous, joyous usual self. "I've wanted to check out that Rose Dragon place Blake said Ruby took her to for a while now, and I'm buying."

Yang jumped off of Blake's bed excitedly. "Awesome, I haven't been there in years, according to Ruby the food got even better." She made her way to the door as Weiss collected her combat skirt and slipped into the bathroom. What greeted Yang was a surprise, she couldn't decide if it was pleasant or not.

"Oh, hey Sun!" she greeted enthusiastically "What brings you round here?" Sun pushed passed her, forcing his way into the apartment without a hello back and gave a quick scan of the room. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Is it just you here?" Sun asked completely ignoring Yang's question. Before she could answer the bathroom door opened and the newly dressed Weiss stepped out. "Good… then I need to talk to you to, right now."

Weiss just spared a glance at Sun, slightly suspicious as to how he knew where the dorm room was but shrugged it off as Blake telling him the room number back when she was a little better connected with him. "Can't this wait? Yang and I were about to grab dinner." She said whilst slipping some boots on. "We'll back pretty soon I'd expect so just waste some time." She then grabbed Myrtenaster and strapped it to her waist. "On second thoughts, there's nothing valuable in here anyways, at least nothing I can't replace easily if you break it, stick around if you want." With that she and Yang headed to the door, turning away from the previously slightly hostile Sun.

"It's about Blake…" he finally rushed, the two girls pivoted to face him each with a different look in their eyes. Yang's violet orbs burned with worry and angst, already jumping to likely non-sensical conclusions whilst Weiss's steel blue eyes were cold, almost as if she was curious, waiting for information she had no conscious clue about.

"Okay then." Weiss finally conceded, turning back to face Sun. "What about Blake?"


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Revelations Part 1**

"_There is but one truly unforgivable crime, one whose victims are the very people you care most about in this fragile world. It is not forbidden by law or by honouring agreement, it is not even forbidden by moral compass, for such a thing, if it truly does exist is defined solely by its owner. This crime was one of lies and masquerades, desperation and fear. It may be for the greater good or for unimaginable evil and yet it remains unforgivable. For those who were given a second chance to start clean and speak the truth when the lie was first uncovered instead chose to further dishonour those closest to them, and pull the wool once more over their eyes do not deserve a third chance. Though perhaps they should… you know what they say about the third time, don't you?"_

Weiss was sick and tired of everything that had been occurring over the last few months of her time at Beacon, every week there seemed to be a new revelation. First Blake was a Faunus, then Blake loved Ruby, then she hated Blake, then Ruby nearly got killed, then Ruby and Blake loved each other and then Adam and Roman made an appearance. Everything was just too much for her right now. She really could have done without Sun barging in with seemingly urgent news about Blake.

She hadn't even spared a second thought towards her real family back at home, her father was likely worried about her, he may not have been the best father but he always did try, even if it meant he failed. That's why Weiss kept second guessing herself. She was sick, tired, frustrated, stressed and generally worn out. Her emotions were in absolute disarray and had been since that fateful day they all decided to go down to the docks to greet the Vacuo students. Her one last respite from the chaos had just been shattered by Sun, her escape offered by Yang had been blocked, she had stumbled at the last hurdle and now a true end to the madness stood before them

Yang on the other hand was apprehensive, stricken with worry and strangely entirely untrusting of the monkey Faunus. For years she had been the matriarch, the protector: a guardian to those left weak and vulnerable by events beyond their own control. Since arriving at Beacon Ruby had certainly become a lot more independent, responsible and mature and Yang was proud of that, moreover she was overjoyed because it meant her duty could be forgotten for brief, sweet moments and she could just sit and think and cry.

Of course right now we she wasn't doing the latter or the former, all she was doing now was thinking. She was thinking of all the different ways Sun could tell her that Blake was dead, that Blake had been kidnapped or that Blake was in hospital following a brutal assault. She was also racked with fear as to the whereabouts of her younger sibling should her disorganised and unspoken fears be proven reality. For the last few weeks Yang had come to accept that this was her life for the next four years, watching on from the side-lines as the two girls she loved more than anything or anyone else in the world celebrated and lived their new-found romance and yet she was about to lose everything that she held dear, no matter how much it pained her. At least that's what her instincts told her. At least that was ingrained in the darkest corners of her mind.

Sun was fidgeting nervously, uncontrollably. This wasn't his choice, if he could walk away and let the truth he was about to speak die with him then he would, but he couldn't do that, not if he wanted to live as a free man, and he owed Kiera that much. "Well come on then Sun, what is it about Blake that's so important that Yang and I need to starve?" Weiss's voice was cold, venomous and, for reasons lost to even Weiss herself, challenging.

Sun had yet to move since entering the room, Yang had collapsed onto Weiss's bed, something that went either unnoticed or ignored by the usually icy heiress who was still stood arms folded in the centre of the two, her eyes glued on an anxious looking Sun whom despite forcing entrance had suddenly gone shy and quiet. _Please don't let me begin this… _he thought to himself whilst hoping that Weiss would silence him before he potentially ruined everything these four girls held dear. Even after several minutes of tense silence Weiss said nothing whilst Yang sat absorbed in her worries, her frustration growing with each passing second that Sun withheld the information until it overcame her.

"FOR CRYING OUT LOUD SUN CAN YOU JUST SAY WHAT IT IS YOU HAVE TO SAY AND GET OUT!?" Yang screamed, Sun jumping at the sudden outburst. Weiss had already threw herself at the blonde, she wasn't sure why she did that but now she sat on the same bed with her and embraced her tightly, her skin cold to the touch beating down the fire inside Yang that threatened to erupt in a supernova.

"Shshshshh, calm down Yang, he'll explain everything." Weiss whispered whilst firing an expectant glance at the now recovered Sun. "I'm sure nothing's wrong, if you're thinking what I think you're thinking then trust me, Blake and Ruby would never let anything happen to one another." _No more lying Weiss… at least not to yourself… _Weiss swallowed down a lump in her throat, an action that struck both Sun and Yang as odd before finally turning to face Sun, the body of her busty teammate still entrapped within her arms. "Answers… NOW!"

_Damnit Weiss… _Sun finally nodded his head, his first voluntary action since impulsively forcing his way inside after Yang opened the door. "You won't like this… and I didn't want to be the one to tell you but…" Sun trailed off once more battling his conscience one last time _remember why you're doing this Sun, remember the reason why you CAN do this… she wouldn't want you in prison now… _"Blake only left the White Fang 17 months ago…"

Weiss visibly shook with rage but otherwise made no attempt to move or speak, her eyes closed and her breathing got heavier but otherwise there was nothing. Yang on the other hand took the opposite route, rather than controlling her emotions until she was sure exactly what she wanted to do with them she exploded in a fit of denial. "No, that's not true, we know Blake. She's innocent, she left the White Fang when they turned evil, there's no way she could have-There's no way…"

Yang's denial cut Sun deeper than the atrocity he just committed. It even cut him deeper than the complete withdrawal of Weiss. "I'm sorry." he muttered as Yang shrugged off the still shaking Weiss, the heiress's hands falling idly to her lap as her stiff posture held her upright whilst the woman she was comforting got to her feet, denial giving way to anger; anger that was being directed towards Sun.

"NO! Don't you even dare!" the blonde shouted at the top of her voice, being careful to avoid mentioning any details in case the walls and floor were thinner than she believed them to be. "What gives you the right to make such accusations, what makes you believe that she would be a part of such a thing?"

The Faunus's evergreen orbs were now cast down on the ground, his teeth nipping at his bottom lip, his entire body refusing to let him look the blonde girl in her furious red eyes as he choked out his response: "Because she told me so herself…"

The female brawler scoffed a very Weiss reaction. "That's preposterous" A very Weiss response. "You're a liar!"

"Why would I lie about this?"

"I don't know! Why should we believe that you, a complete and total stranger to us, are telling the truth? WE DON'T BELIEVE YOU!" Yang turned to face Weiss as if expecting the ivory girl to prove her point. "Tell him Weiss; tell him that you don't believe him!" Weiss said nothing, the girl still shaking involuntary on the bed Yang's gaze faltered her eyes finally returning to her violet colour as every ounce of rage drained from her body at once her hope slowly dying "Weiss? You don't believe this do you?"

_Exactly… why WOULD Sun lie about this? _Weiss didn't want to believe her ears, didn't want to believe her brain and it's thought processes as the stubborn organ recalled every piece of information Blake had ever told her, selectively emphasising each important detail that told her that this was the truth.

_"That was Adam; he was practically my brother for __**ten**__ years…"_

"_I as a result was shipped off to a __**care home**__."_

"_The other __**kids**__ were… insensitive"_

"_He handed me some papers and promised me he'd tell them he failed, that he would never search for me again, and he never did, today was the first time I'd seen him in over __**five**__ years."_

"_Adam was a kind __**man**__ at heart."_

One memory however she could not shake off, one memory she could not deny.

"_Adam was like a brother he welcomed me with open arms, showed me around what was White Fang headquarters"_

_IF Sun is lying then that means Blake left the White Fang age 12 after spending ten years by Adam's side… that would only make her two, how could she possibly have such vivid memories of her first few years with the White Fang? And if she was only two how did the kids of the orphanage unknowingly discriminate against her? It can't be true, I don't want it to be true… but it is… did I know all along?_

Weiss couldn't say the words, she wouldn't let herself speak, not to Yang, not to Sun, she had no desire to talk to anyone actually, not after she remembered what happened this morning, Blake's reaction that she unconsciously must have taken note of since she couldn't remember noticing it at the time. Weiss had only one desire as she stood up and bolted out the door, gripping the hilt of Myrtenaster as a white blur crossed the visions of the two blondes and just like that the heiress was gone, Yang had her answer and Weiss already knew the answer to her own question. _Why did Blake wince when I mentioned Operation Snowfall?_

* * *

It had to be a mad scientist in an insane laboratory didn't it? They would have him to interrogate. _At least he seems willing to hand over information… provided Beacon can find the coin that is._ Pyrrha shook herself from her thoughts; Dr Mei had offered them answers after all; five questions now, his choice of which to answer and a full interrogation once he was paid in full. _Now's not the time to get lost in thought, we need get this over and done with quickly, the White Fang are still here, even if he isn't technically one of them he could have alerted them…_

"First question Dr. Boswell: Why is the password "Chimera"?" Pyrrha decided to start off easy, Mei had to know she already knew the answer, but he may be uneasy about actually confirming her suspicions and would tell her exactly how worth it questioning him would actually be.

Dr. Boswell smiled, his gaze catching Pyrrha's, the girl actively searching the man's form for any signs that he wasn't being truthful. "Isn't it obvious? They are the imperfect children of our little project, the rejected specimens in our search for the ultimate creature of Grimm which the White Fang, our contractors would be allowed to release upon the world as they have been doing with our test subjects."

"Why would you release these monstrosities?"

"Why not? All science is predicated in curiosity, we were curious as to the origin of the world and our being and so we searched and found Dust, our creator. We were curious as to whether or not semblance was hereditary and so we forced separation of twins and compared their powers. To answer your question though: We allowed the White Fang to break ethical protocol because we were curious… they weren't."

Jaune could hear the researcher in the background; he was doing his best to not concentrate on the interrogation and was actually trying to focus on keeping watch. Still small, important pieces of information pricked up his ears, every single shred of it eliciting chills and shivers. _The world really is a cold and brutal place… How are we as hunters making it better? Without us the White Fang wouldn't even be funding this research._

"What were you curious about? What were the White Fang expecting?" Pyrrha had been entirely business-like the entire time, paying no mind to Jaune who was playing guard duty whilst consuming herself with her role as interrogator. Her body never relaxed, the girl just waiting for the subject to try something, anything, and yet nothing came. He was entirely compliant, entirely confident and entirely calm.

"We were curious as to how the surrounding wildlife and creatures of Grimm would react to an alien, apex predator being introduced to their food chain. The White Fang were not expecting anything. WE were expecting the Grimm to exhibit defensive mentality, to form alliances with their fellow prey to boost their chances of survival against the new, more dangerous predator. The White Fang WANTED our assumptions to prove partially right, they WANTED defensive behaviour; more specifically they WANTED the native creatures of Grimm to flee from their natural habitat to escape the Chimera."

Pyrrha's next question would decide just how much Dr. Mei Boswell was willing to give to Team JNPR and to Beacon Academy and yet it was the simplest question of all, consisting of a single word. "Why?"

The doctor laughed silently, his own professional façade waning as he amused himself with the red-haired teen's attempt at playing the one in control, this was the simplest question, and also the easiest to answer. "Because IF the Grimm did display characteristics of territorial defense then we would demonstrate an often unspoken of taboo: A generalised Grimm cognitive functionality." Pyrrha's forehead scrunched, a wrinkle appearing as her eye brows closed together, the young girl perplexed as the man continued. "Not instincts, not bloodlust: genuine intelligence, just like all other known sentient beings, though perhaps not to the same degree…" he paused for a minute, giving a hearty chuckle, clearly amused at his own thoughts. "Who knows, maybe this time next year you could have your very own beowolf pup as a pet."

Pyrrha shivered much to the amusement of the doctor. Pyrrha concentrated, pulling her mind away from the interesting concept to attend to the matter at hand: he had successfully avoided the obvious meaning to her question. "That's not what I meant and you know it." She stated her question once more, making sure that there were no secondary interpretations for the doctor to exploit this time around: "What was the end result the White Fang were working towards provided the creatures of Grimm did retreat from their environment?"

Mei laughed again _this game has already ended girl… _"That would be question number six princess. You seem to have forgotten the rules. You ask me five questions and I decide which ones I answer. I answered all five of your questions, I apologise if you didn't get the answers you seek, but perhaps Ozpin will be smart enough to ask me himself…" Pyrrha groaned at him in frustration, her teeth scraping together as a low growl escaped her throat which further amused the doctor. "There is ONE question that you really SHOULD have asked though since Ozpin has no reason to."

_Wait what?_ "What are you talking about?"

Mei's showed his own set of gritted teeth as he took in a breath between them, his face contorted in feign shock and condescending disbelief as if Pyrrha had asked a question with an obvious answer. "And that's question number 7… I'll tell you what, because I like you, and you're a little bit slow… and you'll be dead pretty soon anyways, I'll answer one more question, that one of course."

Jaune spared a worried glance back towards his teammate, Pyrrha herself now entirely tensed, her eyes frantically scanning the room for any tool that would bring about the demise Mei foretold of. "You see, in all of the excitement of getting to speak to a real scientist you forgot the most important question of all:" he closed the gap between himself and the girl who was just minutes the dominant one, at least by all appearances with a single stride and leaned forward, his lips mere centimetres away from the amazoness's ear, Pyrrha being sickened at the feel of his breath on her neck, cheek and ear. "You should have said: "Tell me Doctor Mei Boswell, are what is contained in those reinforced glass pods going to kill me." To which I would have said: "Of course they are dear, my sincerest apologies.""

Pyrrha's face snapped to the left, gaze homing in on the one visible specimen as it finally moved, it's one wing shaking before bursting outwards as if an eagle was about to take flight, the tough feathers smashed through the glass effortlessly as it attempted to take to the air, launching itself at Pyrrha. In a fraction of a second Jaune was by Pyrrha's side, his blade piercing the stitched flesh of its wing stump and slicing into its heart killing it. "Give my apologies to Professor Ozpin, the deal is off." the doctor announced with a chuckle before disappearing out the same door Jaune was once watching over.

"Quick we have to-" before Jaune could finish his next sentence the rest of the glass pods began to crack and fracture, small slivers of structural weakness soon evolving into a break as glass shattered all around them, creatures of Grimm: mutated; operated on; and yet untouched bursting free and surrounding the duo. "Uh Pyrrha…" began Jaune, the girl in question giving a small hum as the duo took a back-to-back formation and readied themselves for the onslaught to come. "If we don't make it out of this alive, I just wanted let you know that-"

"No clichés Jaune." Pyrrha replied, cutting off her blonde leader mid-sentence.

"Right, I'm sorry." Jaune said apologetically, or at least as apologetically as one could sound when facing down a horde of spliced, normal and incomplete Grimm specimens. Pyrrha herself cracked a smile, Jaune's sweet but terrible romantic gesture cheering her up slightly and freeing her mind enough to shake away the fear. _Not like this, not by these…_

"And that's my line…" the redhead continued, further teasing Jaune as if this conversation was happening anywhere else, and the idea worked, Pyrrha distracted her mind from the matter at hand and it cleared, here she was staring down over a dozen unique specimens of Grimm, natural or artificial and yet she knew that she could win, that she could survive, her mind reminding her just who was there at her back, the same boy who had always been there for her since the Initiation. _We can do this, we WILL do this._

Jaune himself was perplexed, here they were surrounding by Grimm and Pyrrha was being more playful and whimsical now than she ever was, let alone whilst in a life-threatening situation. Somehow the reminder that Pyrrha could still be that girl he had fallen for so many months ago even in a situation like this soothed his fretting and told him that everything was going to be all right. "Right" he said, playing along with whatever odd game the duo were playing to keep themselves brave "I'm sorry…"

Pyrrha giggled, it was an almost schoolgirl style giggle and it was for but a brief moment before the Grimm she was staring at growled and brought her back to reality one last time, the girl remembering two small, missing details. _Where are Ren and Nora?"_

* * *

**Author's Note: **Fun fact: I never actually intended for The Calm Before Part 2, Revelations Part 2 or (what I have a feeling will be) The Storm Part 2 to be things, but I guess I really suck at sticking to my plans…


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Revelations Part 2**

_"Time and time again I would hear those words: "in time you'll fly" I came to fear those words. I came to fear the implications, because flight was both a solitary activity and the second option of the defining instinct of a huntress. It was never an option to me, it couldn't be, and I wouldn't let it. Far too many people would come to rely on me in my lifetime for me to just give in and flee. To me it wasn't fight or flight: It was fight or die. Ignoring the second interpretation there was one last thought consuming point: for each time I heard those four words I recounted an old tale, one in which a young man flew too close to the Sun and he fell from the sky and was swallowed by the unforgiving sea… and in this world history has been known to repeat itself… time and time again."_

The air was thick and heavy, the atmosphere almost unbearable as Blake sat by Ruby's side, her arms embracing her, holding her tightly refusing to let the precious gem she had come to love go. Ruby's single question moments prior had cut Blake deeply. Her own girlfriend lacked faith in her loyalty, in her abilities to keep her safe from harm, but who was Blake to judge? After all she had been lying to her from day one, eventually that would come back around and Blake would have to face Ruby after crushing what little trust she now knew she didn't even have in the first place. All Blake could do was sit there in silence, nuzzling affectionately into Ruby whom nestled comfortably within her partner's arms.

_Come on Ruby… Say something… _Blake began begging her inwardly, she hadn't dared speak, she hadn't even answered Ruby's question because her mind was jarred, her body frozen in nurturing position whilst Ruby sobbed, tears soaking into Blake's combat gear. _Please say something! _Eventually the raven-haired girl gave up and let out a surrendering sigh, it was the first actual sound to break the silence save Ruby's cries. The redhead peered up, looking entirely crushed by her girlfriend's seeming yielding, only for hope to re-enter her cloudy, tear filled eyes when Blake finally worked up the courage to speak.

"Ruby…" Blake thought about her next words carefully; she could not bring herself to lie, did not dare to give Ruby any more false hope that a happy ending was a certainty. "Ruby…" she repeated again, her eyes looking straight forward at nothing in particular, her mind finally settling on brutal honesty. "I can't promise you that this will be forever, I can't promise you that fifty years from now we'll sit down and have our own heroic stories to regale our grandchildren with" Blake paused for a moment, took by surprise at her own words before shaking the thought from her head and continuing "because in this life nothing is certain. And not every promise can be kept. Sometimes it's necessary to turn a promise into a lie…"

The older girl couldn't bring herself to look at the younger teen, she couldn't bear to see what agony and trauma her words may or may not be inflicting, it didn't save her from feeling Ruby grasp her tighter, pulling her own body closer to Blake's. "What I can promise you though is that, for as long as I breathe, I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you. I would do my best to keep you safe, and from now until the day our last teammate breaths their very last breath, we will be united, as one. Because even in-death our souls, our spirits, our memories and even our very own motivation lives on within the bodies of those individuals that yet stand above ground."

She was still for too much of a coward to give a glance to Ruby, though the frequent sniffs seemed to indicate that her tears had dried up, and Blake could feel Ruby's face stretch against her chest as a smile finally promised to appear. "Ruby I can't promise your safety forever or a life of happiness. I can only promise you today, but I will be able to repeat that promise every day I wake up by your side, but I won't promise you tomorrow, because that's not what I'm here for."

Ruby's head finally turned, momentarily shocking Blake whose own amber eyes locked onto Ruby's silver orbs, and she swallowed hard before continuing. "The only person who can ensure that you survive to see tomorrow is you, at the end of the day we may not always be there for you, at least not physically." Blake paused again, biting her lower lip as she thought about how to continue this little speech she'd worked herself into, and then inspiration struck as she remembered Yang's singing.

"We won't ever leave your side if we don't have to, but if that time comes then you need to be able to soar on your own,; to live, fight and love without us by your side, then you need to be able to... I can't promise you that we will be here forever, but even if we do have to say goodbye… the next time we meet? That's forever… And that I can promise you…" Ruby's face had moved closer to Blake's throughout her speech, her lips tantalisingly close to Blake's, the older girl's breathing pitching higher as Ruby pressed their lips together.

The two pairs locked for but a moment before Blake herself pulled away, immediately regretting the decision as she longed for Ruby's taste but she knew she had something far more important to ask for than a second kiss. "Ruby, can I ask you something?" The redhead stumbled away like a puppy cowering from a loud noise, worry once again evident in her constantly conflicting eyes, worry that pained Blake.

"Umm… sure?" she asked, her face contorting.

"Your dream… what was it about?

Those simple five words brought Ruby's world crashing down. _I thought only Weiss knew about those… _Ruby gulped and lowered her head, taking a sudden great interest in the combat arena's floor. "I…" she gave up quickly trying to think up an excuse, or to deny it as nothing. "It was about my mother… They were recurring nightmares when I was younger; I'd actually forgotten them until now, when they reappeared with one minor alteration… you were the one beneath the white cloak."

_Wait what? Her mother… Well that makes sense given that she passed away, but-wait who's that? _Blake pulled herself from her own train of thought as she heard the tell-tale slide of the double doors that granted entrance to the training grounds, her teeth gritted and her eyes narrowed as she watched with pent up rage and growing horror as Cardin Winchester appeared on the balcony, gazing into the arena. His own forehead scrunched up as he looked over the two girls entangled in one another's arms. Blake pricked up her cat ears, listening intently to the duo which Ruby was paying no mind to; seemingly absorbed in thought as to how she would explain the dream to Blake.

"Come on guys, let's go…" was what Blake believed she could make out, a sentiment she was disbelieving of given whom it was coming from, but his actions spoke louder than his words as he and the rest of his team turned and disappeared back the way they came. Blake couldn't stifle her smile _I knew there was something good about him… _Her attention was quickly pulled back to Ruby whom spoke up.

"The dream has always been the same, me standing in front of her gravestone, it's situated up in the highest mountain of the Snowy Forest, its grown to be a resting place for my family for generations, mother used to always tell us that her mother's grandmother fell in love with the scenery and that from generation to generation the girls of our family all did too… and that's true. The thing is, the reason it was only me is unclear, I think-I think Yang died and" she paused for a second, taking in a deep breath, forcing herself to speak now "and I was left alone…"

Blake was speechless, no dream she had ever had had been so vivid, so haunting, so open for negative, agonising interpretation and Ruby wasn't finished. "It always ended the same way: With me saying a prayer and reciting her favourite poem, however after the poem I'd repeat her favourite line "Summer Rose, thus kindly I scatter" and her pristine, white cloak would appear, pushing me away, rejecting me."

Ruby's eyes began to tear up yet again, but she just shut her eyes, biting back the sobs as she soldiered on. "And I couldn't blame her; it was my fault she died." Ruby showed signs of cracking, of breaking down once again but her face set like stone, completely sorrowful as she wiped away a stray tear that managed to escape. "But in my new nightmares there's a person wearing the cloak… you are wearing the cloak, your ghostly figure embraced by mother… in the afterlife…" she finally broke down, her emotions overwhelming her.

Blake was paler than usual she only had three things on her mind right now: comforting Ruby; telling her the truth about the White Fang; and she couldn't bite back her curiosity. _Exactly what did she mean by "it was my fault she died"?_ Blake couldn't risk the two latter options, not in Ruby's current psychological and emotional state and so her decision was made, she would be there for her, it was all she could be, and it was the promise she made, as long as she COULD be there she WOULD be there. She threw her arms around Ruby pulling her close once again, whispering soothingly into her ear. "It's okay Ruby, today everything will be okay…" There were two specifics words she decided to not add to the end of that sentence, after all Team JNPR might not make it back to Beacon, and no one could know exactly what fate had in store for Team RWBY… And lying was the last thing she wanted to do right now…

* * *

"Keep on the lookout for the White Fang… and whoever it was that took out those two guards back there…" Ren was being cautious, clearly on edge over knowing that someone else was near, he kept telling himself the same thing: That everything would be fine, that, whomever this guy or girl was, they were fighting the same cause as Team Juniper and that that alone would hopefully be enough to prevent conflict between them if they ever met.

Nora groaned in frustration in response to Ren. "Yeah because clearly I could take this mysterious individual on if I did spot him without my weapon…" she rolled her eyes earning a slightly irritated stare from Ren. He hated this version of Nora, it was something rarely seen but once in a blue moon she'd have this shift in personality, she'd become snarky, antagonised and crabby, her general behaviour would become much more aggressive.

Coming to think of it Ren only knew of three instances where he'd seen her like this, once when she had to go three months without combat because her ribs were cracked, that was two years ago; again earlier this year when she was stripped of her combat privileges for seven weeks for nearly destroying the statue in the courtyard; and now today.

It seemed almost as if Nora was going through some kind of withdrawal, the weightlifting ecstasy and empowerment that came from battling a horde of Grimm allowing her to release a pent-up rage that without release overflowed. Ren quickly pushed the thought to the back of his mind, not daring to even broach the subject. However he did need to say something, he didn't like this Nora, she was confrontational, and confrontation could easily lead to discovery and an end to the mission and her life.

"Okay then Nora, if you want your weapon back THAT badly…" he began with a smile, Nora's agitated posture quickly turned bouncy as her face lit up "then answer me one simple question." He finished, he could easily kill two birds with one stone right now.

"Ooh only one?" she asked hopping from foot to foot excitedly, her voice bubbly, her demeanour and tone returning to what classified as normal for the boisterous redhead. That was the girl Ren became best friends with, that was the girl Ren came to tolerate for eight years regardless of who abandoned him or her, they were always there at one another's backs, as friends, as partners.

Ren chuckled at Nora's uncontainable hyperactivity, he had a glint in his eyes that would have intrigued Nora if she'd seen it, maybe even brought out feelings of anxiety, but that hint into Ren's plot went unnoticed by the girl who was paying more attention to bouncing up and down like an excited child waiting for a toy or some sweets. A smirk crossed Ren's lips as he spoke. "What exactly DID you say to Blake to convince her to give her and Ruby's relationship a shot?"

Nora's giddy bouncing ceased immediately, her smile fading. "Uh…" she said nervously, a faint red blush coating her cheeks. "Umm… you heard that?" she finally asked trying to avoid the topic; she was unable to actually consciously lie, especially not to Ren.

"Yup" was all she got in response, the green-themed hunter reaching back, pulling out Magnhild and waving it around teasingly.

"Damn…" Nora said defeated, her face reddening even more as she worked up the courage to tell Ren her true feelings. "Ren I-" but she just couldn't, thoughts of rejection and an awkward end to her first true friendship rampaged through her mind, placing seeds of doubts and a great fear deep within her. "I-I-I" she continued like this for a short while, entirely clueless as to what her next words would be. Her gaze avoided Ren, eyes locking on the ground with suddenly spiked interest.

_Okay, come on Nora, this is the best chance you're ever gonna get, just go for it right? That's what you told Blake, right? That hiding your feelings never works? _Her mind battled with itself as she worked up the courage to speak. "Ren I…" she trailed off one last time before achieving some measure of confidence; she took in one last breath through her nose and expelled it out through her mouth. "I told Blake living in denial over romantic feelings has done nothing but fail me for the last eight years." she finally admittedly shyly, her words rushed and near incoherent.

Ren blinked twice, the out of character grin momentarily giving way to confusion as he slowly pieced together the mess of information._ Okay, she needs to stop hanging around with Ruby and Yang… _Shaking his head Ren got himself back on track, eying up the anxious looking girl, her face was a rare shade of red much to the disguised delight of her partner.

"To me it doesn't sound so much like denial but rather a fear of rejection…. You've never denied your feelings; you just denied them a voice." Nora's colour drained back to her normal, paler complexion as Ren began to extend his hand that held Magnhild. The redhead began joyfully reaching for the weapon only to visibly jump at the sound of glass breaking.

"What was that?" she asked, her eyes scanning the room, Ren looked surprisingly amused about the situation eliciting a "what?" from Nora.

Shaking his head he let out a chuckle, Nora finding his behaviour a little peculiar until he finally chucked her Magnhild, her weapon of mass destruction. "First of all THAT was the sound of things going to hell…. And the other thing is-"

"You owe me." Nora said slightly agitated and a little shy from having told Ren the truth in order to get the weapon she was going to have gotten anyways. Ren was taken aback, shooting her a slightly confused and scared glance. "You said you'd give me Magnhild if I told you… you gave me Magnhild because well-" more glass shattered and Nora could've swore she heard a beowolf howl "that." she said finishing up her point just motioning in the general direction of the disruption.

"Nora…" he begun much to the excitable and hyperactive girl's dismay "Break legs now, get food later." Was all he followed up with and yet it was enough to completely distract Nora from the chaos about to ensue, her eyes lighting up as she bounced up and down uncontrollably.

"Does this mean? Are we?"

"What did I tell you about food and breaking legs?"

"Oh… um…"

Ren brought a hand up to face with a quiet slap for the first time in his life, exhausted by Nora's lack of attention already whilst greatly amused, and admittedly unnerved by the fact that the prospect of her and him being "together-together" as she always called it forced aside her near constant thoughts of controlled, legal violence and destruction. "Just to be clear, you break the legs now." he clarified.

He heard her stifle a giggle before she took up a more military posture, her back straightened, Magnhild somehow fully extended during all of this and was resting hammerhead first on the floor, Nora's left hand rested against the very base of its shaft as she raised a hand to her forehead in salute. "Yes sir!"

_I wonder if there's a point where she becomes less insane… _Ren quipped inwardly as he watched Nora prance off towards the noise source, Magnhild in hand. "Um, Nora?" he asked, he was going to bring up the fact that they could do with a plan before rushing in blind, but it was too late, Nora was already gone. He just sighed and smiled _guess not, but would I have it any other way? _And with that he sprinted down the corridor in chase of Nora, Stormflower at the ready as always. _Things are about to get fun…_

* * *

It seemed like hours had passed to Blake and yet it had only been but a few minutes, Ruby had stopped shaking and sobbing at least but that just meant that they were both now coddled up on the cold ground with Ruby not giving any hints at wanting to move and Blake not willing to take the dominant role at that moment. She just needed to make sure that Ruby knew of her presence, of her support. She wouldn't move, wouldn't leave, unless she had to.

"Blake?" came the soft voice of Ruby, Blake had to admit that the girl sounded a little pathetic, she had clearly weakened herself either emotionally or psychologically and she either failed or didn't bother to hide it.

"Yes Ruby?" answered Blake, these were the first words to break the several minute longer silence, the first few movements in that small timeframe as well. Blake couldn't stand this, couldn't stand seeing Ruby in such trauma and unable to spin the tale any other way to not blame herself, couldn't stand the feelings of guilty tearing away at her insides.

"Thank you…" _Wait what? _Blake's eyes shot down to look at Ruby, for the first time today Blake saw a genuine smile, the usual playfulness that burned brightly within Ruby's contrastingly neutral orbs swatting away Blake's self-loathing and forcing a smile to creep on her own face. "I love you…"

_Wait what? _Blake took another double-take, for some reason this was a huge shock to the system, no matter how obvious their feelings for each other were, despite Yang and Weiss reminding her daily of the fact that Ruby loved Blake, regardless of the fact that Blake reciprocated those feelings in kind, she had never heard Ruby herself say those words. _Never._

Blake was brought back to silence, she gulped. _Okay… so how do you react to this? Think Blake think! _She could hear Ruby gulp in fear, her eyes burning into Blake's body as she waited for a response. _You love her too, just say it back you dunce! GODDAMNIT WEISS! _"Sorry what was that? I completely zoned out."

She hated herself for that, she wanted nothing more than to tell Ruby that she loved her too and yet, THAT was what came out. Ruby cringed slightly; still comfortably nestled in Blake's arms. "Oh it's… nothing… forget about it…"

Now Blake cringed. _Baka _she kept repeating to herself over and other again, she didn't actually know what the word meant but she'd seen it numerous times even in the translated versions of the Crimson Twilight series, and it certainly sounded like an insult given the context it was usually used in. _Come on, you can still fix this, let's try that again… _"Ruby, I-"

She was interrupted by the sound of the doors opening and loud stomping. "BLAKE BELLADONNA!" came a shrill shriek causing Blake to cringe and share a weary, concerned look with Ruby as Weiss appeared on the balcony and immediately vaulted over it, landing safely on her glyph before dissipating the white circle of power, her feet touching the ground. She stalked over, fury and hatred burning in her eyes. Blake actually found fear wringing her of all courage. That was becoming a common occurrence for her lately; it was becoming a weakness; she wouldn't let it.

She pushed away Ruby and rolled backwards, coming back to her feet with Gambol Shroud in her hands, katana in the left cleaver in the right, held out defensively as she stared down Weiss whom took a more aggressive attacking stance. "Weiss, this really isn't the time!" Blake spat almost too venomously for even her to believe it. Ruby's gaze bounced between her two teammates, the situation was volatile, what little peace there was, fragile. This was bad.

"Weiss just calm down." Ruby offered in a soothing voice, Weiss's gaze snapped over to the redhead, Blake naturally took a more offensive stance at seeing Weiss's switch in target. _She wouldn't dare! Would she?_

"You shouldn't take the side of a liar Ruby!" Weiss yelled with great anger. Blake's eyes sealed shut _this isn't real, this can't be real… _she swallowed hard, her soul crushing as she re-opened them, Ruby was shooting Blake a desperate look, almost pleading with her to deny Weiss's yet unclarified accusations.

Of course Blake couldn't, the one thing she wanted to do right now was to tell Ruby everything, to tell Weiss and Yang everything, but if THIS was how everyone found out, then Team RWBY would crumble, her promises to Ruby broken just as soon as she had made them. She wouldn't let that happen. "Weiss, whatever your problem is with me, we don't need to drag Ruby into this!"

"Oh I think we do you filthy mutt." was Weiss's immediate, scathing reply, delivered alongside a spiteful chuckle; Blake flinched at those words, even an angry Weiss tended to have more dignified retorts. Whatever it was that Weiss knew it was enough to demolish what little faith she had in Faunus, to completely undo the progress she had previously made thanks to Blake, the girl who was quickly realising that she was responsible for the relapse.

Blake shot a sideways glance at Ruby, the redhead's eyes tearing up yet again as she slowly backed away from her best friend and her girlfriend whilst they stared one another down. _Please Weiss don't do this, not here, not now; anywhere but here… anytime but now… _"Weiss think about what you're doing, I'm your friend, think before you do anything we can't come back from!" reasoned Blake, sounding slightly more threatening than she had intended to.

"Oh you think there's a way back do you? From everything you did to humanity? From everything you did to my family, to my company, my father, MY MOTHER!" Weiss's voice was climbing in volume, escalating in pitch, her rage building. Blake was growing all the more cautious whilst still keeping an eye on Ruby, her girlfriend wincing.

"Please tell me it isn't true…" the redhead pleaded softly.

Blake didn't respond to Ruby, not directly at least. "That isn't me anymore Weiss, you know that!" something about Ruby's reaction struck a chord with Blake, it was something she'd never seen before, at least not from a conscious Ruby. Her eyes were dead, devoid of emotion, her face set, as expressionless as a stone. Her body tensed as she watched on, her gaze locked onto two of her most loved connections.

"But do I really?" Weiss retorted back quickly. "What do WE actually know about you Blake? What exactly DID you tell us that's actually truth!?" Blake tried to speak, to say something but she couldn't, Weiss was technically right; EVERYTHING she'd ever said to Weiss that Weiss would actually listen to right now was a lie. "That's what I thought…" Weiss finally said after a few moments of silence. "Should we even believe you when you say you're no longer with them?"

Blake went to speak again but was immediately cut off by the enraged heiress. "Weiss I-"

"STOP!" she shouted venomously. "I've had it with your serpent's tongue! I won't let you lie to me anymore, I promised my father that sending me to Beacon wouldn't be a mistake, that I'd see him soon… I won't give you the chance to make me break that promise…"

Blake went numb _Weiss thinks I'm here to kill her?_ Her eyes shifted to the still unmoving Ruby as Weiss raised Myrtenaster above her head. _This is really happening; this is how this chapter ends? _She raised Gambol Shroud defensively, her two blades forming an x-shape as Weiss charged forward. "Please don't do this Weiss!" she pleaded one last time as she raised her swords, Myrtenaster catching between the pair of blades just mere centimetres from Blake's skull.

_She knew I could block that… didn't she? _She didn't have time to ponder though, in an instant Weiss whipped Myrtenaster to the right, pulling Blake off balance before delivering a swift kick to her teammate's shin and slashing Myrtenaster down once more, the blade slamming into Gambol Shroud and knocking the already faltering in balance Blake over, the girl quickly rolling back to her feet, ignoring the pain of landing so hard on the floor.

"I am NOT your enemy!" Blake shouted again as Weiss charged forward one last, a complete lack of care, of empathy in her eyes, icy blue orbs only displaying a desire to ensure Weiss's own safety from the girl she deemed as a great threat to her very own existence, a girl that fractured her trust, perhaps forever. _But you can't hear me, can you?_

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hope you all enjoyed, if you anjoyed it enough consider faving/following, and feel free to tell me what you did and didn't like in a review, all reviews are welcome and only serve to improve your experience, though some less appropriate guest reviews MAY be rejected._  
_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: The Storm Part 1**

_Remember your training Weiss, your father allowed you to take up fencing as a means of defense; this is the day you were preparing for-this is how you prove yourself to him. _Weiss chambered Myrtenaster, the hilt rotating and settling on the light blue as she glided forward towards Blake. Blake herself had one solitary thought running through her head, all she wanted to do was repair her friend's shattered faith before Weiss's became jaded beyond salvation for her friend's own inability to face up to her past; if only Blake how to actually do that.

The heiress was now mere inches away from the Faunus and delivered three quick thrusts, each being parried by Gambol Shroud leading to the girl leaping backwards out of Blake's range cautious of a counterattack. _Don't do anything stupid Weiss, people like Blake are opportunists, you can't afford to falter, not here, not now… _The hilt rotated once more settling on white, a glyph appearing beneath the white-haired girl providing a boost to her innately impressive speed.

She dashed forward once again, nothing more than a white blur to the untrained, naked eye. She came to a momentary stop and slashed at Blake, the Faunus barely managing to pull up her cleaver to block the attack. A second later and Weiss was behind Blake; the raven-haired girl quickly revolving on the spot, her katana clashing with Myrtenaster placing Blake in a precarious predicament ever so slightly off balance giving Weiss a leverage advantage.

Still this was the first break in Weiss's assault, her first opportunity to speak. "Weiss listen to me, please: everything I did in those five years I've regretted; I was blinded by false loyalty and desperation to see my ideals become reality! I realise now that their new way of thinking is an extreme way of thinking!" Blake was still trying to reason with her enraged teammate, desperate to survive, even more desperate to pull Weiss from the brink she placed her on. She could feel the pressure in her shoulders as Weiss overpowered her.

As a result of the tension being placed on her arms Blake was forced to take a kneeling stance giving Weiss yet more leverage with which she further bared down upon Blake, Gambol Shroud edging closer and closer to the Faunus's flesh. Thinking fast Blake swung up her cleaver in a slashing arc and swatted away Weiss's blade, the human stumbled forward left entirely open to an attack from Blake whom opted to shadow jump away, placing more distance between herself and her attacking friend.

"Nothing more than excuses…" Weiss muttered coldly before dashing forward once more, she slashed Myrtenaster to the right, Blake barely avoided the attack. Weiss followed up with two thrusts, each aimed at Blake's shoulders in an attempt to disarm. Blake once again succeeded in snaking in between the sharpened blade, albeit barely and swiped her cleaver in a horizontal motion aimed at Weiss's thigh, Weiss barely back stepped in time to avoid the attack.

Irate at her own failed attacks Weiss activated her semblance again, her glyphs boosting her speed and soon Weiss summersaulted above Blake and performed a plunging attack, Myrtenaster piercing the ground where Blake once stood, a stream of ice erupting from the ground in the direction Blake had used her own semblance to escape to.

Blake found herself a little proud of Weiss; she was becoming far more proficient at switching Myrtenaster's mode mid-technique. She shook the pride away quickly however _now is not the time to get side-tracked. _She used her shadow clone once more and leaped off of it into the air, the ice ripping the weak amalgamation of darkness apart before Blake landed shakily but safely on the glacier left behind.

"You know what? You're right, you're absolutely right…" Blake sounded defeated before her eyes lit up with an evident need to survive burning within. "But everything I did whilst in the White Fang? It was everything I needed to do to ensure that I was still alive tomorrow, and if I had to commit all those crimes again in order to get where I am today, with you, with Yang, with Ruby… in a heartbeat."

They were the truest words Blake had ever spoken, without the White Fang she had no idea what her life would've been like, they adopted her at her time of need, and the change in regime didn't exactly come with a chance of retirement, if Blake could've left with notice she would've left with notice. Everything, from the ignorance of the human kids, to the attachment to Adam and the other children of white as the old leader used to call them, to the acceptance of the White Fang's newly born, more aggressive tactics and even up to the present with the web of deceit she spun to hide herself from her team. It was all done with an inherent need to live another day, to live a life she believed just a decade ago that she would never have. And that desire to persist on in existence grew stronger still now that she had Ruby, now that she had Team RWBY; she finally had something she was unwilling to sacrifice. She would not let Weiss win; she couldn't afford risking the consequences.

"Terrorists don't deserve to live…" Weiss spat back, the girl herself wasn't entirely sure IF Blake had any real involvement with her family's struggles, and yet, Blake was White Fang, and a faunus, how could she believe the word of a known liar-especially one that may or may not have had a history of trying to end her life? This wasn't a game, this wasn't sparring and practise, there were no second chances here, there couldn't be, not if Weiss wanted to ensure that she would still be standing come the next time she and her father were in the same room… her scared, broken and jaded father that masqueraded as a fearless, merciless and indomitable tyrant.

"THE WHITE FANG ARE NOT TERRORISTS!" Blake shouted, Weiss finally eliciting some rage from the black beauty regardless of whether or not she meant to. Blake dashed forward, things were getting out of hand, tempers were escalating to rarely seen heights and this had to end before either she or Weiss found themselves impaled on their friend's sword. She unleashed a flurry of blows as she closed in on the heiress. The heiress hurriedly whipped Myrtenaster in all manner of direction, several sparks flying when the rapier and the katana clashed for an extended period of time.

Blake used her clones to pseudo-teleport behind Weiss, catching the heiress by surprise but still failing in her objective to disarm her friend. Another flurry of blows were parried by the heiress, the girl admittedly feeling a little overwhelmed by her teammate's unrelenting assault. She also couldn't help but feel frustrated; despite the shower of fierce blows Blake was raining down upon her; that same girl was being merciful, the holes in Weiss's defense were obvious, even Weiss admitted that, and yet the black beast refused to exploit them. Weiss felt a white hot burning sensation within her as she interpreted the meaning behind Blake's half-hearted flurry of blows.

_She's not even trying! She's mocking me! _Weiss blocked another slash from the cleaver and narrowly sidestepped the second blade before using the spike on the back of the katana to force Myrtenaster's hilt back into the white. Ducking beneath a two-handed swipe she touched her fingers gently on the ground, a white glyph appearing and immediately launching her upwards, Weiss slashing in an upwards arc, the attack barely being blocked by Blake who still felt the effects from the attack, her guard being shattered, the dual swordswoman's stable stance faltering once more.

Weiss leapt backwards, landing on a second glyph before propelling herself forward in the direction of her former friend. "YOU'RE A MURDERER!" she screamed, finally having a chance to respond to Blake's outburst. In the moment she lost herself to anger she failed to realise that Blake had used her shadow clone to recover from the staggering attack of Weiss and now had her blades arranged in an x-formation again, and once again Gambol Shroud gripped Myrtenaster tightly. The black-themed rogue quickly followed up, ripping her arms to the left causing Weiss to stumble and release her rapier, the blade careening across the arena floor.

A breath later and Weiss found her throat enclosed in those self-same blades, Blake looking at her with finality in her eyes. "I am NOT a murderer Weiss" she clarified sternly before dropping her hands to her side, the blades that encased Weiss's throat now aimed at the ground as the black-themed girl watched intently, waiting for Weiss's reaction in the vain hope that her act of mercy finally helped Weiss realise that she was her friend, not her enemy, that she had no intention of killing the heiress and that she wasn't a threat.

There was a tense atmosphere for a short while before Weiss finally spoke, Blake becoming increasingly disheartened with every breath she took. "You lie to me." Blake winced, Weiss sounded venomous, her tone unchanging from when she first arrived. "You take from me." Her voice sounded almost sad to Blake there, infused with hints of rage and hatred. "And now you mock me?" Blake's face dropped, nothing had changed.

What happened next caught the sorrowful Blake by surprise, Weiss quickly back flipped, placing distance in between herself and her opponent before she combat rolled over to Myrtenaster and gripped it, the hilt click into place in red mode. She fired a stream of fire towards Blake, the cat Faunus barely rolling to the side before a stream of icy blue projectiles flew her way, she did what she could to dance in between them before shadow jumping to avoid the next barrage.

In an instant she felt something frozen slam into her back, the projectiles homing in on her and beginning an unforgiving assault on her spine earning agonised screams of pain before she finally collapsed to the ground gasping for air with a searing pain running through her back. She had little time to rest however as Weiss pirouetted on the spot, Myrtenaster penetrating the ground once more and another glacial torrent erupted from the ground barrelling straight towards Blake.

In a last ditch effort to avoid being frozen to death the raven haired fighter used her shadow jump once more, the ice barrier claiming her cleaver and her shadow clone as she landed shakily on her feet, the pain in back causing her to wince in pain and clutch her aching ribs with her now spare hand. The distraction served its purpose allowing Weiss to close the gap she had previously created and in the same motion slash her weapon of choice across Blake's chest, the faunus unable to fully escape the sharp edge that cut into her pale flesh, half-way between her neck and her breast. Blood began to seep out of the shallow wound providing a coat of red that blended with her combat gear.

That served as the final wake-up call, Weiss had actually drawn blood, this wasn't just a release of anger; this was a genuine attempt at killing Blake before Blake got a chance to kill Weiss. Weiss didn't want an explanation or an outlet for her frustration. Weiss wanted retribution; she wanted to hurt the White Fang, to hurt the Faunus, for everything they had ever done to Weiss, to her family, to humanity. And she had managed to trick herself into believing that Blake was the White Fang, that Blake was her enemy. She was fighting no quarter given, no mercy shown, and Blake was unable to reciprocate… and as a result she was going to die today.

Blake clutched at the open, luckily relatively small wound Weiss had given her, grateful that Myrtenaster missed her neck, her remaining blade went to work sloppily defending her from Weiss's continued barrage, Blake stumbling occasionally but managing to keep herself alive. "Weiss, please, you have to believe me." She brought up her katana once more, Myrtenaster slamming into Gambol Shroud with a force Blake failed to parallel or surpass in her current condition, the cat faunus stumbled forward breathless, the inadvertent loss of balance saving her throat from being ripped open by a slashing attack. Her energy depleted, Blake fell to the ground.

"Please Weiss… don't judge me now for the fool I let myself be back then… I don't ASK for another chance, I BEG for mercy…" Blake never before had to beg for her life, she never once had ever asked for mercy or admitted that she was undeserving of forgiveness, and yet those were the thoughts that were truly rioting in her brain right now.

Weiss scoffed and strolled over to Blake, pinning the girl to the ground with her boot, her sharp heel digging into the wound and further exacerbating it much to the agonising pain of Blake whom made no attempt to prevent it. Blake couldn't help but smile though, hope returning since that scoff was the first trace of the Weiss Blake knew and loved to appear in the last ten minutes, but it was foolish for her to believe it a cause for celebration. "You're right… you were a fool… but would you have shown me mercy if you DID succeed in capturing me during Snowfall?" Blake was absolutely speechless.

"That's what I thought…" Weiss raised Myrtenaster upwards, the blade parallel to her body before thrusting it back down, the blade aimed at Blake's heart and yet all she struck was the cold hard ground. Weiss groaned and peered upwards, Blake was bent down on one knee, her right hand resting across her raised left thigh, the hilt of her katana gripped within a closed fist. Her other hand rested against her split chest, she could feel the blood oozing from what would surely be a scar if she did somehow manage to live through this, she silently thanked Weiss; she would gratefully accept such a brand to remind her of everything she'd done, not to the world, or to mankind, but to her team. "Blake…"

The mention of her name caught the cat Faunus by surprise; she peered up, her breathing heavy. This was the first time Weiss spoke that name since beginning her attempt to silence its owner. "Weiss…" she managed to whisper softly, every breath overwhelming Blake's body with pain.

"You may not be my enemy… but that is not a risk I can afford to take, my father trained me better than that, my fencing instructor conditioned me to be stronger than that. To own the Schnee Dust Company is as cutthroat as it gets, time and time again the White Fang, and faunus of similar mindset, have proven that owning that company, owning what will soon be MY company means either making examples of or being made examples of… it's a brutal and unforgiving game of blood… how do I possibly let potential threat such as you go unchecked?"

Blake's eyes had never left her ivory friend's form, she sounded exactly as Ruby had less than an hour ago; Weiss was pleading, desperately asking Blake to give her a reason not to end their association, just like Ruby had. This would be the one shot Blake had to convince Weiss of her innocence… not that those were the words Blake would use to describe what she was.

"Weiss, if this is how it ends, if this is how I fall then I refuse to let my final memory be of us two fighting." She released her katana, the sword bouncing on the floor before she began slowly fighting her way back to an at least upright base her, legs shaking as they struggled to support her own weight. "Once again Weiss: I am NOT your enemy, and I will not fight you. If retribution is what you want, if safety for you, Ruby and Yang is what you want, then what reason do I have to stand in your way when I share those same desires?" she kicked away the last half of Gambol Shroud and raised her hands half-way into the air, groaning in constant pain as she did so. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

Weiss was eying up Blake carefully, dumbfounded as to exactly what the girl's plan could have been. Of course there always was the possibility that Blake was telling the truth, that she was her friend, that she wanted nothing more than to ensure the safety of Ruby, Yang and even Weiss herself. She shook her head _no, if this IS deceit then you will fail your family, you will have to leave father, and without you daddy crumbles-and the SDC follows. You can't let that happen, you promised you wouldn't. _Her face was set in stone, her eyes filled with determination, not that Blake saw any of that given that her own amber orbs were hidden behind sealed eyelids, her mind filled with nothing more than images of Ruby.

"This is just another one of your plots, more trickery and deception…"

"There's only one way to find out…"

Weiss raised Myrtenaster above her head for a short time, a group of snowflakes conjuring above her, light blue in colour before being directed towards Blake, each individual projectile binding to a part of Blake's figure, the girl lifting into the air as her arms, legs and neck were trapped in Weiss's icy binds. "Goodbye Weiss, I'm sorry I couldn't be a better friend…"

Weiss had used one of her glyphs to air step up onto Blake's level, Myrtenaster placed against the pale skin that covered the Faunus's neck. "Me too Blake… me too…" her hand gripped her rapier, her eyes squeezing shut as she prepared the final blow. Her hand shook, all she had to do was swing her hand outwards and Myrtenaster would do the rest.

Blake had resigned herself to her fate, tears rolling down her cheeks as she awaited her end, memories of Adam, Sun, Team RWBY, Team JNPR and even a few older friends she had thought lost to the sands of time played through her mind like a highlight reel; a torrent of all the happy moments in her life bidding her farewell until she finally arrived back to moments prior, the promises she made to Ruby. _I'm sorry Ruby… at least the next time we meet will be forever…_

Weiss's hand shook violently, fighting against the heiress herself, the Schnee prodigy was conflicted, all she had to do was flick her wrist, such a simple, natural move and she could tell daddy that all his fretting was for nought; that there was nothing she wouldn't be able to do, nothing the White Fang-or the Faunus population in general-could do to drag his daughter to the afterlife and yet she was hesitating. _What are you doing? Now is not the time to pause for thought, now is the time to end this, PROVE that you can end it all Weiss._

The shaking stopped, her hand set in place, the blade pressing into the skin of Blake's neck, blood beginning to trickle from where blade unwittingly broke the pale flesh of her teammate. "It didn't have to end this way Blake, but it does now…" her hand gripped the hilt tighter still, she had made up her mind and the cat Faunus was now just waiting for her time to come.

"WEISS, WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?"

Blake recognised that voice instantaneously, it was Yang. She felt the blade shake once again in Weiss's grasp, Blake's expression contorted into one of pain as she felt the blade cut into her neck; fortunately there was no force behind it and little desire in Weiss's body to see her friend put to death for sins of the past. The blade fell from the raven haired girl's throat, clashing against the ground. Blake opened her eyes and was greeted with Weiss's own tear-filled blue orbs. "I… I really don't know… I-I just…"

Blake could sense the breaking of Weiss's voice right now: the sorrow, the guilt, the regret of her actions now that her rage had subsided and she was back in control of her own actions. Weiss broke down, Yang leaping over the balcony and fired off two shots; flying towards the duo and embracing Weiss.

"Shhh… everything will be alright." Yang shot Blake a single glance as Sun appeared on the balcony; her partner's eyes were devoid of emotion, the relief and exhilaration that she should have got for knowing that her chances of being here tomorrow just increased exponentially were consumed by a much darker realisation: Ruby had slipped away during the chaos.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note 1: **So this is a JNPR only chapter akin to Sun and Kiera's exclusive. I didn't put a warning in the chapter title because this is actually relevant and important to the plot. Anyways read, enjoy and review.

**Chapter 17: The Storm Part 2**

He could feel her pressing against his back, her weight supporting his, reminding him that he wasn't alone as they stared down the gruesome creatures. What looked to be a Beowolf Alpha howled and he gripped his weapon tighter, his shield raising defensively as a de-tusked boar Grimm rolled forward, the heavy mass slamming against Jaune's shield and causing him to stumble backwards, knocking Pyrrha off-balance.

The redhead recovered quickly, rolling forward and landing on one knee before slashing at a small beowolf, raising her shield to scrape against the clawed paw of the first whole Grimm she'd seen that day. Her semblance activated, her strength being indirectly boosted as she forced her way back to a stable base before ripping the shield away, the momentum of the ursa's attack causing it to stagger forward, its own claw impaling one of its brethren before Pyrrha cut at his back bringing him down.

Pyrrha spun on the spot, Milo switching to rifle form as she looked towards Jaune, the blonde was holding his own just fine. After inadvertently knocking Pyrrha off-balance he had seemingly found a way to knock the Boarbatusk onto its back and impaled it with his sword. He was now ducking beneath the Alpha's swipe and slamming his shield into the monster's stomach. It paused for a second, growled in annoyance and swiped again, the slow attack being rolled beneath by Jaune who grabbed Crocea Mors from the chest of the boar corpse.

In her focus on Jaune, Pyrrha was unaware of the Nevermore breaking out of one last, previously undamaged, pod; it was much larger than the baby Nevermore they had recently killed and was likely tranquilised to prevent it from attempting to escape. Now it was awake and charging at Pyrrha's back. Jaune pulled his shield up, the Alpha's claw slashing against it, Jaune counterattacking with a horizontal slash, cutting into the left hind leg. _What's that? _he asked himself "PYRHHA, BEHIND YOU!"

Hearing Jaune's cry Pyrrha glanced behind her, the Nevermore shrieking as it closed in, Pyrrha barely ducked, the beak that would have ripped into her heart narrowly missed her, shredding a few locks of hair instead, which still earned a shriek from the redhead as the roots ripped for her scalp. The Nevermore flew up, its talon ripping into her back. Pyrrha cried out and stumbled forward.

Jaune saw Pyrrha keel forward, red liquid seeping from her back, soaking into her leather corset. "Don't worry about me!" Pyrrha called out reassuring, trying to keep Jaune focussed on the situation at hand. Jaune shook himself out of his stupor and back stepped to avoid an Alpha swipe before unknowingly but luckily side-strafing the Nevermore's barrage of feathers, the razor-sharp spear like "weapons" slamming into the ground and separating Jaune from the Alpha whom howled once more. Three more beowolves that had been waiting their turn charged forward.

Jaune raised his shield defending himself from the triad managing to knock one back and slice at another. Pyrrha was punishing herself silently, she knew better than to get distracted, she knew better than to believe Jaune needed protecting, because he didn't, not anymore. She peered across, luckily the Alpha was completely cut off by the Nevermore's attack but the barrage of three beowolves in such a small room with an Alpha present was a dangerous situation. That was proven by Professor Port using Blake as the sacrificial lamb.

Something then suddenly wrought her with fear, she realised she couldn't see the bird Grimm, she glanced around finally spotting it as it cawed and unleashed another barrage towards Jaune, the blonde rolled away, his weapon that had been impaled in one of the beowolves left behind. He raised shield, one of the feathers piercing right through the sturdy metal, barely missing his arm and stopping right before his face.

A second beowolf charged at the downed Jaune, in an act of desperation Pyrrha forced herself to her feet, her weapon becoming a javelin as she fired it, the high powered spear piercing the chest of one of the Grimm, stopping it dead. She scrambled over to Jaune, pulling away his now useless and unwieldy shield and pulling him to his feet. They were weaponless, Jaune was shield-less and Pyrrha had an injury that even she did not know the severity of, she just knew that the pain was near unbearable... and they were surrounded, they were going to fall. Pyrrha couldn't help but feel resentment, anger towards Nora and Ren for not being here for them.

"Well Pyrrha… I guess this is it."

"I guess it is…"

The remaining beowolf howled, the alpha snarled and the nevermore prepared for yet another attack. The two other beowolves, presently impaled with their weapons stood back up and an ursa that had gone unnoticed during the moments preceding now finally roared. Pyrrha closed her eyes, awaiting death. Another fierce roar came, followed by the sickening sound of a bone being shattered, Pyrrha didn't dare open her eyes, in her mind Jaune was already dead, but then she heard an explosion and the sound of a head literally popping.

"Taaaaake THIS!" That voice was unmistakable; it was vibrant, energetic and joyous. Pyrrha slowly opened her eyes and true enough Nora was spinning around in a circle, Magnhild fully extended and smashing into the beowolf that was impaled with Pyrrha's javelin silencing it. The ursa attempted to strike at Pyrrha and Jaune but a green blur soon appeared raining down a barrage of bullets on the beast causing it to stagger. Wasting little time Jaune dashed to the beowolf that held Crocea Mors captive in its abdomen. Gripping the blade he ripped it out, the beast howled in pain foolishly exposing its head, the blonde wasted little time in slashing at it, removing its head from its body.

Nora was now distracting the Nevermore, firing grenade after grenade in an attempt to keep it locked in a cycle of staggering. Right now they lacked the means to kill it. Thinking fast Jaune ran over to the second beowolf, yanked out Pyrrha's spear and tossed it to her; she struggled to a kneeling position and waited for an instruction. Jaune just nodded towards a window high up on the wall, light streaming through. A few trigger pulls later and the window shattered, leaving a dangerous obstacle to traverse that also served as one of few ways out of the room.

"Ren, think you can draw that thing out of here!?" Jaune asked with a shout, he had to as little could be heard over Nora distracting the remaining enemies. Ren just nodded in response before dashing over to Nora.

"Switch!" he shouted, Nora gave him a nod before heading over to Pyrrha and Jaune. Ren prepared himself, slotting away his two weapons once he had the Nevermore's attention. As expected it swooped towards him, his hands raised and the Nevermore found itself being propelled by a violet "wall" of energy, Ren's immensely powerful aura managing to hold the bird at bay just long enough for him to side step and pull out one half of Stormflower, the blade slicing into the soft hide that was hidden by almost iron-like feathers.

The nevermore screeched and took to the air again, Ren hanging on to his one SMG whilst the second extended from his other sleeve. Swinging his arm upwards he thanked every deity he could think of when he felt it sink into the wing too. A short climb later and he was practically surfing the Nevermore's back.

"Whoa."

"I wanna do that!"

"Dammit, this cut's deeper than I thought…"

Jaune was pulled out of the act of watching in awe as Ren practically rode a creature of Grimm, his gaze falling on Pyrrha instead. At some point in the last few seconds she had undid her corset and checked her wounds to the best of her abilities, the lace that held the leather material together now was considerably looser than it was at the start of the mission, Jaune assumed it was to alleviate any pressure her combat gear placed on her ripped flesh. "You okay Pyrrha?"

"I'll be fine."

Ren dove off of the nevermore, gripping hold of the window ledge, ignoring the pain as he felt glass cut into one of his fingers. His aura pulsed, healing any wound he just gained and used the additional strength to keep himself in place whilst using one his SMGs to pull the Nevermore's attention once again. The bird Grimm flew towards him with intent to skewer, predicting the attack Ren pulled himself up and out of the open window, landing with bended knees on the cold hard ground.

The nevermore smashed through the majority of the wall, coincidentally giving Ren a path back, now free from its confines the experimented on monster continued soaring forward, decimated yet another wall and disappeared into the wild, inadvertently causing the room Ren was in to begin crumbling in its wake. Ren began desperately climbing back up the wall of rubble left behind by the nevermore, safely pulling himself up and over before the room collapsed, cutting the nevermore off from Team JNPR and leaving the group in complete silence save for the pained whimpers of the beowolf that yet remained on the operating table.

Jaune quickly rushed up and mercifully silenced the beast with a blade through the heart before returning to his partner's side, finally taking notice of the dead ursa in the corner. _I guess Ren killed it at some point… _"Okay guys, a couple of things. Pyrrha" He began, the redhead's head rose to meet Jaune's inspecting gaze. "Are you sure you're alright? Can you stand?"

Pyrrha began struggling back to her feet from the combat stance she had taken previously, she succeeded, she was groggy, but she could walk. Nevertheless Jaune immediately took to supporting her with his own weight. "I'll take that as a "sort of"… Ren" Ren just gave a quiet hum to indicate that he was listening. "THAT WAS AWESOME!"

"Ooookay?"

Jaune ignored Ren's response having already turned to face Nora… who wasn't stood where she was just a few seconds ago. "And Nora, uh… Nora?"

"Ooooh!" came a worrying sound of curiosity from behind the now dead beowolf turned surgery victim. "What's this button do?" she asked herself giddily. Jaune gulped.

"Nora don't-"

Ren just smiled at Jaune's naiveté and optimism. "Too late" he explained as they heard the unmistakable click of a button being pressed. Some smoke filled the laboratory and a hole opened in the ground, a glass pod turned foggy by whatever chemical agents the White Fang had been using during the experiment contained within being pushed to the surface. "I wonder what's in it…"

"Uh Nora, can you see a de-fog button or uh… something?" Jaune asked. Nora hummed in thought whilst her eyes scanned the screen and the keyboard, finally settling on a clear blue button, she nodded excitedly. Jaune followed up with another question. "You have no idea what you're doing do you?" Nora just shook her head, confirming his fears. "You're going to press it anyways aren't you?" Nora nodded once again earning a chuckle from Ren and a pained cough from Pyrrha whom also tried to laugh. "You know what? Screw it, just press it."

Nora squealed with glee and giggled happily to herself whilst forcing the button inwards, much to hers and everybody else's surprise it actually worked, the glass slowly cleared up, giving Jaune, Ren and Pyrrha a close-up view of a captured and contained Chimera.

Pyrrha gulped, pushing herself away from Jaune to inspect the glass a little closer. "Does this remind you of anything?" she asked the two guys that could actually see the pod. Jaune paused for thought for a few moments.

"Yeah now that you mention it, it's exactly like the Chimera Blake described after Team RWBY's own White Fang mission.

"Not exactly, this one's more…" she paused in an attempt to find the right word "complete, looking at the horns, the second half-grown wing… Dr. Bosworth was telling the truth, they're genetically modifying the most dangerous creature of Grimm they can artificially create." A solemn quiet blanketed the trio for a while before Pyrrha finally made her way, shakily, up the steps to where Nora was. "You see an incinerate option?"

"Umm… maybe this one?" Nora said uncertain before pressing it away, they heard the tell-tale hiss of air escaping and then door began to slowly pry itself open.

"Nonono! That's now what we want, hit it again Nora, hit again!"

The hyperactive girl giggled at Jaune's panicking before pressing the self-same button, the door returning back to its sealed shut state. Before Nora could even begin looking again Pyrrha's head snapped up ever so slightly. "There!" she shouted to notify Nora before smacking the button. "Ugh… passcode needed."

"Try "oak"." shouted Ren heartily.

"Why would it be oak?" asked Pyrrha shooting him an unamused look.

"I don't know. Why was it "key code" earlier?"

Pyrrha paused to think, the momentary distraction from the pain that came from conversing with Ren passing, the searing sensation in her back returning as the blood continued to flow, the brown leather darkening with each passing second. "Umm…" she winced slightly, thankful that only Nora could see it, the other redhead placed a comforting arm around her shoulder. "You know what, screw it; just try oak."

Nora shook her head in disbelief, a wide smile on her face for unexplained and knowing Nora, likely inexplicable reasons as she punched in the three letters. Ren's eyes widened as he heard a robotic voice speak to Pyrrha and Nora. "Key code accepted, initiating incineration procedures. Please ensure contaminant is contained and the pod sealed shut. Incineration in 10… 9… 8…"

Ren was now getting looks from Nora, Pyrrha and Jaune. Pyrrha was eying him suspiciously, clearly at least a little unnerved by her teammate knowing the pass word, Jaune was also distancing himself from him, though didn't seem suspicion as much as he was cautious. Nora was just grinning from ear to ear, completely entranced in her own little world. "I swear to God guys, that was a coincidence…"

"4… 3… 2… 1…"

As the countdown struck 0 the howls of pain from the Chimera were heard, Jaune and Pyrrha cringed as the Chimera suffered an agonising, brutal death. Nora was fascinated, an elongated "Ooooh." escaping her lips as she inspected the chamber of fire. Ren's expression was completely emotionless, he just watched on like a lost traveller staring into a flame both the flame and the dying Chimera reflected in his pink orbs.

"One, two: It's a pleasure to meet you…"

Those words, born from a hoarse and spiteful voice pulled the quarter out of their own thoughts as they focussed on the new arrival, or rather the two dozen new arrivals. _Did this guy REALLY just say those words? _The man took another step into the room, Pyrrha and Ren immediately taking in every little detail. He was a tall man and ripped for his size, from what little flesh was visible he appeared to be chiselled out of stone. He was wearing a tactical vest embroidered with the White Fang logo; the colours customised however to better reflect his black and blue theme. He also wore slacks, black with blue lines travelling down the seams and starting a spiralling pattern half-way down shins. Black army boots adorned his feet. He was an intimidating presence, and an incredibly odd man.

"Three, four: That Chimera WASN'T yours!"

_How are none of these guys laughing at him? _Jaune asked himself, sparing a warning glance to Nora before taking note of the guy's weapon… or rather lack thereof. Whilst searching for any sign of steel he finally spotted the sand coloured wolf ears adorning his slicked back, blonde hair, the hairstyle surprisingly still being possible despite his animal traits.

"Five, six: You're all a bunch of-"

"Is this really happening?" questioned a curious and agitated voice from behind Jaune and Ren. _GODDAMNIT NORA! _The man seemed visibly angered by the redhead's interruption, taking in a deep breath before exhaling and trying again.

"Five, six-"

"Yup… this is happening…" Jaune revolved on the spot, his judging gaze now falling upon Ren. _It's like you two WANT 24 armed operatives to open fire on us… _The man growled at the lotus-themed huntsman-to-be before biting hard into his gum and closing his eyes, once more practising breathing exercises to calm himself down.

"Let's try that again…" his voice was condescending, like one of those really horrible school teachers that require their students to repeat his own rant back at him to ensure that they understood. "Five, six: You're all a bunch of-"

"Can I break his legs yet?" _NORA!_

"Oh my God, what is wrong with you people!?" The White Fang operative finally broke down, his anger issues getting the better of him. "All I'm trying to do is get my point across without making a big theatrical production about it…" _Oh really, because it certainly seemed like you going for camp broad way singer… _Nora giggled at her own untold joke earning unbelieving, quizzical looks from her teams and pulled all of the White Fang's attention on her.

"You see THAT'S what I'm talking about: Humans have no consideration for anyone else. You have the audacity to label us wild, mindless, savage animals and yet here you are!" he flung his arms out to motion towards the foursome, Jaune spying interesting looking gloves on the man's hands, the wrist adorned with steel akin to broken handcuffs, the silvery grey colouring broken apart by spouts of red, yellow, white and two shades of blue. There was one clear container as well, showing that the colours were not design and were likely held in dust capsules. "No respect, no consideration, absolutely ignorant and you even go as far as to get under the skin of someone holding you at gunpoint!

Another unmasked Faunus stepped forward; he was holding a battle rifle in his hands and had what looked to be a rapier attached to his hip. "You want to try that again sir?"

"No, you know what just-just kill them, I'm sick of this crap…" A third unmasked operative, a behemoth of a woman carrying what appeared to be a mortar cannon stepped forward and dropped in something likely explosive and dust infused. With the female stepping forward Pyrrha caught a glimpse of a familiar face.

"Dr. Mei, I believe you still have answers to give us…" she said with a wry smirk, the wolf Faunus physically kicked the brute of a woman away from the mortar before she could fire it and held up a hand in signal to prevent his other subordinates from attacking.

"What did you just say?" he asked Pyrrha venomously casting a disdainful sideways glance toward Mei who visibly and audibly gulped.

Before Pyrrha could answer the doctor stepped forward. "I did what I had to do survive, without me there is no project!"

"Precisely!" shouted Pyrrha stumbling forward slightly, her arm hugging her own body tightly as she gripped the arch that connected her spine and her ribs. "You are a despicable person, without you there would be no Project Chimera, there would be no civilian casualties on the roads, and there would be no civil crisis right now!"

Mei snapped forward forcing his way passed the leader, receiving a frustrated growl from doing so. "You truly are a fool!" he called out, the wolf Faunus stood on the side lines, just waiting for this to play out. "To believe that the White Fang would not find an alternative way to force the Grimm into the kingdom is preposterous! They NEED the chaos; they don't have the resources to change this god-forsaken world otherwise!"

The man stopped in his tirade, puzzled for the first time in his life, absolutely dumbfounded as to why everyone, even the redhead and the blonde that interrogated him earlier were looking at him absolutely speechless, and then the wolf Faunus gave a single nod to his gun wielding right-hand man who stepped forward and blasted Mei with three shots to the chest, Mei let out sounds of pain and collapsed to his knees, blood gushing out of his wounds. The leader sighed; his voice changed tones once again, becoming cold and monotone. "I'm GUESSING that you never told them that part…"

The doctor coughed up a large amount of blood, spitting out the remnants onto the ground before looking back up to the White Fang higher-up, his hand clutching the three bullet wounds as his shirt was soaked in blood, a dark red liquid seeping down his forearm. "You can't kill me, you NEED me!" he spat to which he simply got a single, mocking chuckle before he lifted his hand once more and motioned for his henchman to execute the doctor.

"People like him are actually a dime a dozen, mad scientists exist all around, we are just lucky that most aren't given the opportunity to pursue their crazed ideas… Charlotte, finish them off…"

The large woman took another step toward her now loaded mortar and grinned, she was going to enjoy this. All of Team Juniper flinched as the barrage of mortar shells headed their way, whistling through the air yet going unseen by the fear-stricken humans. The strangest thing was: all four had the exact same thought running through their mind at the exact same moment. _Goddamnit I was THIS close… Confound it, lord._

* * *

**Author's Note 2: **I posted an update on my profile for all who are interested. The important information: Following Chapter 20 I may take a break from this until mid June due to exam season. Oh and also Chapter 18: Terminus? won't be released until Sunday at the soonest, and even then circumstances out of my hands may push it back into next week.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: **So this is the longest chapter yet. We're nearing the end of the Revelation arc, there should also be far less angst in the story from here on out, though obviously until Chapter 25 it won't be non-existent. Anyways read, enjoy, if you enjoy it enough follow and as always all feedback is good feedback!

**Chapter 18: End of the Line?**

Sun flinched once again, his body cringing away from the now infuriated Yang. Weiss had suddenly taken off, likely in search of Blake and that left Sun alone with an unreasonable and denial stricken Yang. He didn't know a whole lot about the blonde but did know one thing: red eyes were bad. "Why would you to do this to her Sun!? What in the world would possess you to lie about something like this? Do you WANT to rip apart my team!?"

Sun gulped, this could enter very dangerous territory, very quickly if he didn't choose his words carefully. "Look Yang, I didn't want to do-"

Sun stopped himself as Yang's entire body flared, the immolation singing the carpet. "You didn't want to do it? You DIDN'T want to do it!? Well here's a revolutionary concept: If you don't want to do something; DON'T FUCKING DO IT!" Yang's voice was now a guttural shriek tinged with tones of sadness, defiance and regret.

Sun just let the distressed blonde vent, waiting for her to finally settle, he could sense every emotion coursing through Yang's body. He understood the sadness, everything she knew and loved was crumbling and he understood the rage, it was entirely his fault after all, she had every right to want to knock his teeth down is throat. He didn't understand the defiance or the regret.

He assumed she was defying herself, denying herself closure on the issue; as long as she didn't accept it as fact it wasn't, and she didn't have to accept it as fact until proven as such. He assumed the regret however was her conscience, the part of her mind that told her that this was true, that was now making her hate herself for letting someone like Blake anywhere near Ruby.

He couldn't know for sure, and feared finding out for sure, but it was all he had to work with. "If I could have Yang…" he said softly, sadly "I would have…" Yang's pupil finally flashed violet for a moment "but circumstances are beyond my control." Yang's body relaxed just a touch, just enough. Her eyes closed and she let out a sigh, when they re-opened the rage was gone and violet seas threatened to overflow into floods of tears. "I know you don't want to hear this Yang, I know that. I-I know that… but…"

"You believe it's true…" Yang said quietly, she looked crestfallen, it wasn't exactly what Sun wanted to hear but at least it wasn't accusations that he was a liar. "And if it's true then Blake is either dead, will be soon or has killed Weiss… And Ruby, Ruby is…" Yang's eyes began to tear up, her lip quivering as everything she'd denied for so long suddenly became vividly real. "I love her… you know that right?"

"Yes, and Weiss knows it as well." Sun paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and casting a glance towards the door. _There's no way I'll be able to forget this… but it was either freedom at the cost of RWBY's happiness or… whatever the White Fang would have done to me._ Sun shivered as he remembered back to all the things he had already done for the White Fang in the short time he'd been aligned with them against his will. "Yang, I'm sorry, about everything. It's a worthless sentiment but it's all I can give, apart from my hope that you can get through this… I'm sorry it had to be this way…"

With that Sun turned and headed towards the door, the damage was done, the White Fang would release him and he'd be able to continuing living. Whether or not he deserved that after what he'd done, not just today, not just for the murder, but in the days following Adam's appearance was something even Sun was becoming unsure about. "Actually…" Sun froze to the spot; Yang quickly scribbled something on a piece of paper and walked through the door. Curious, Sun peered over a small smile appearing as he read the words scribed:

_So you had to do it? You did it… they don't need to know about what comes next…_

_She works quick _Sun thought, smirking to himself before chasing after the focussed brawler.

* * *

"If retribution is what you want, if safety for you, Ruby and Yang is what you want; then what reason do I have to stand in your way when I share those same desires?" Yang tensed as she heard Blake's echoed voice, she sounded pained and stressed, she also sounded like she had surrendered, that she had lost hope. "Well, what are you waiting for?" the familiar voice called out again. Yang gulped, picking up her pace whilst making sure Sun was still sneaking behind her.

"This is just another one of your plots, more trickery and deception." Fear gripped the blonde as she practically forced the sliding doors open dashing inside and freezing for a moment, paralysed by the shock of the scene in front of her, a broken Blake had entirely gave up; she was now just awaiting her execution at the hands of her teammate.

"There's only one way to find out." replied Blake, completely exposing her bloodied and battered body to her scorned friend. "Goodbye Weiss, I'm sorry I couldn't be a better friend." Yang trembled as Sun finally made his own way in and gasped as Blake was restricted by five binds, each taking the form of a snowflake. Weiss hopped up on a glyph she had conjured as Blake was raised into the air. The Faunus was now completely helpless; and Yang would soon be watching as Weiss murdered the girl she loved in the name of vengeance.

"Me too, Blake, me too…" Weiss muttered whilst attempting to steady herself, the blade of Myrtenaster eventually stopped shaking in her grasp, the edge cutting slightly into the skin of the amber-eyed girl that was willing to die by Weiss's own hand in order to prove her loyalty. The sight of blood trickling from Blake's neck snapped Yang back to reality; she let out a horrified grasp before an uncontainable rage began burning within her.

"It didn't have to this way Blake, but it does now…" To Sun, Weiss sounded sorrowful. To Yang, Weiss sounded murderous. Sun saw the shake of Weiss's hand, once again her heart fighting against her brain. Yang saw nothing but the future of Team RWBY, with Blake dead, Weiss unable to pick up the pieces of herself after taking someone's life, Ruby unable to pick up the pieces of herself after discovering that Weiss executed the first girl she'd ever loved and Yang, unable to look either of them in the eye because she failed to stop it all from happening. She wouldn't let that happen, that's why she had to do this to Weiss.

Yang exploded, fire once more immolated the blonde but this time she did nothing to contain it, Sun flinched as an eruption of flames engulfed the balcony. "WEISS, WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" The rage within Yang quickly subsided as she finally noticed Weiss's shaking, the blade drawing yet more blood from the already cut and bruised Blake.

"I…" Weiss began, the anger was draining quickly as she stopped herself, she didn't know what to say next, couldn't explain her actions. "I really don't know…" she finally admitted sorrowful, meeting Blake's own eyes with hers. "I-I just…" Weiss completely broke down; Myrtenaster fell from her now limp hand, clanging against the arena floor. Mere moments later and Yang was by a shaking Weiss's side.

Yang brought Weiss to a seated position across her lap, the usually stone cold and emotionally distant girl sobbing into Yang's chest whilst the blonde cradled her head, her callous fingers running through snow white hair. "Shhh… everything will be alright." She whispered soothingly. Yang's eyes locked onto Blake's and her heart and soul betraying her own words as she saw the apathy in Blake's eyes, the girl was practically dead emotionally, there was only a hint of fear in her eyes and that hint was all she needed to show in order to make Yang's blood run cold.

Sun had now leapt the barrier and rushed across the room coming to a stop on Weiss's glyph. He proceeded to wipe the blood from the unmoving but entirely conscious Blake the only movement of her head coming from when Sun tenderly lifted her chin to wipe away the blood on her neck. "Where's Ruby?" Yang asked with a petrified whisper, Blake finally voluntarily moved, her eyes just being cast down to the ground, enough to answer Yang's question.

Yang cast a quick glance to Sun who had now discarded the bloodied tissues he'd used to clean Blake, the monkey Faunus sighed. Weiss turned her head to face Sun as he begun to speak, inadvertently beginning to use Yang's breasts as a pillow, something the blonde ignored and that went completely unnoticed by the raven-haired woman and the blonde male. "Weiss, it's not true..." Sun began, biting his lip and giving Blake an apologetic look before continuing. "I lied" Blake lifted her head, no emotions being expressed despite measurable rage and partial gratitude overwhelming her "What I said back at the dorm, it's all a lie. Deceit designed to drive a wedge between Team RWBY."

Weiss struggled to move, Yang restraining her to prevent the heiress from strangling the life out of the staff wielder. "I was being ignored by Blake, and got jealous and was stupid and figured this would be the best way to get back at her…" Weiss's attempts to escape continued, the girl's writhing resulting in a fair few marks on Yang that the blonde expected to become bruises by tomorrow morning.

Weiss's struggles ceased when a low, weak chuckle was heard. Weiss, Yang and Sun all turned to face Blake, her pathetic laugh came to a halt as she coughed up a small amount of blood, spitting out onto Wiess's glyph. She was still locked in place several feet above the air. "That has got to be the worst lie I've ever heard…" she declared throatily, Weiss couldn't suppress a smile; she had actually believed Sun, perhaps not sub-consciously, but it would have worked; Blake could've took an easy way out and continued lying, but she hadn't; that had to account for something.

"Weiss, Yang; whatever he told you, it's probably true, down to every last detail." Yang's face finally dropped as her last line of defense, of denial was broken down; hearing Blake admit it made everything far more real than her accepting it or Sun's revealing ever could. The girl she loved, the girl that her sister was madly in love with was a former terrorist, the implications sickened the blonde; and yet she couldn't bring herself to resent Blake.

"I'm sorry about all of this, and I promise, once WE" she made sure to emphasise the we, the raise in pitch and volume eliciting another spurt of coughing as she brought up yet more blood; the injuries were potentially serious but they were far from anything that would prevent her from making sure Ruby was safe "find Ruby, I will tell you everything you want to hear. I just didn't want it to rip us apart…"

Yang's eyes met the now reddened eyes of Weiss who just nodded meekly; Yang mouthed a thank you before releasing Weiss from her tightened embrace. The ivory girl reached for and gripped Myrtenaster and, with a quick flick of the wrist, the bindings that held a submissive Blake dissipated, the cat Faunus slamming hard into the ground as Weiss did nothing to soften her fall. Yang rushed over as soon as she heard Blake groan in pain. "Are you o-"

"Fine" Blake said emphatically whilst forcing herself to her feet. She ripped the ribbon from her arm and shredded it, wrapping it around any cut that was too deep. "Let's just find Ruby…" she stated before heading to the balcony, brushing passed Weiss knowing better than to speak as she did so. Weiss herself had relaxed slightly, likely taking great relief in the knowledge that Blake was presently weaponless having left both her katana and her cleaver on the arena floor, the latter still encased in ice.

Yang had now reached the stairs to the balcony and Sun was several feet behind her. Rushing towards the stairs she gripped Sun's shoulder and whipped him around to face her, he didn't say anything. "I think you've done enough, don't you?" questioned Weiss rhetorically, it was forceful and almost threatening; Sun just closed his eyes and nodded. Weiss pointed in the general direction of Blake's weapons. "If you really want to help…" she said before darting off after Yang and Blake in search of her partner.

* * *

The whistling of the mortar projectile rang out in the ears of Team JNPR, the sadistic laugh of the ringleader taunting them as they awaited their end, eyes shut and thoughts clouded with visions of their nearest and dearest. They then heard a thud, and the reassuring sound of a blade slamming into the ground; an odd noise followed and they felt something, something incredibly strange wash over their bodies like a wave. Then the mortars hit, and the end didn't come.

Ren was the first to dare open his eyes as he heard the ringleader groan in frustration. What he saw took his breath away. Surrounding Team JNPR was a faded golden bubble, as if a brilliant aura had been extended and was shielding them, dancing across the bubble were bursts of electricity, fire and ice, each brilliant light blending together, creating a magnificent aurora of energy. "And who in all things holy, are you!?" asked the leading White Fang operative.

"Reinforcements…" Ren's attention, now joined by Pyrrha's, Nora's and Jaune's now that they had shaken themselves of their fear-stricken paralysis, was dragged to a mysterious figure in the centre of the bubble clad in eastern armour, a contrasting mix of black and white with gold trim serving as the colour scheme though there was no sign of a decorative pattern or design save for an small broken straight sword engraved into the right shoulder of his light, but likely incredibly sturdy armour.

"Umm… actually a name would be good Mr. Samurai Guy." noted Jaune tentatively. The stranger, whom Ren and Nora assumed was the one that decommissioned the soldiers that almost caught Nora yanked his blade out of the ground, the shield flickered for a second before retreating back to a gold sphere embedded in the hilt of his shinken, once more washing over Team JNPR as he did so.

"Do you really wanna stick around and find out?" He asked with a smirk, his hand twisted on the hilt of his weapon and the white and gold blade was shrouded in a dark aura, a black murky fog that sent a shiver down even Pyrrha's spine. "GO!" he shouted. Jaune cast a glance to Pyrrha whom was still favouring her back, she nodded and the blonde gulped; they couldn't win a lost cause; and that was exactly what this was. The mysterious stranger claimed to be reinforcements and he told them to leave; he had to know what he was doing.

The White Fang opened fired and in seconds the fifth infiltrator appeared next to the fleeing foursome, his blade once again embedding into the ground; a gold sphere corrupted with a writhing black slime this time not only blocking the bullets, but deflecting them back injuring a handful of operatives and killing two outright. And just like that Team JNPR were gone, they were in the corridor and making a dash for the exit. Pyrrha being supported by Ren who used Stormflower to provide covering fire on the operatives that weren't inside the Chimera lab whilst Jaune and Nora worked surprisingly well together to incapacitate the lesser operatives that stood in their way.

A short minute later and they were at a familiar door; the side door that they came in through. Jaune burst outside, sword clashing with a White Fang operative; he side stepped and slid his sword away causing the soldier to stumble forward before delivering a powerful knee to the poor guy's temple knocking him unconscious.

"Pyrrha call for evac." Pyrrha just nodded before seething in pain as Ren gently placed her down. She whipped out her scroll and immediately set about completing her orders. "Nora, don't let anyone near Pyrrha!" Nora saluted with a giggle before returning Magnhild to its grenade launcher form. "Ren, you're with me, we've got a favour to return!" Ren nodded before heading back inside with Jaune.

The rescue mission didn't last too long however, after fighting through the first wave of half a dozen operatives they were greeted by a series of explosions, the assumed hunter took a step back, narrowly avoiding a flame-engorged fist from the ringleader before slashing at a console. The ringleader jumped several feet into the air before slamming his fist in the ground, a light blue explosion knocked back the stranger who suddenly seemed far slower than he had before; the ringleader grabbed the man by the throat but Ren loosed a burst of aura-infused bullets; the barrage staggering the ringleader back a few steps and buying the samurai enough time to make it through the archway once again before the door linked to the console closed and sealed shut.

The man dusted himself off and brushed past Jaune and Ren, the notion offending Jaune slightly. "Don't we at least get a thank you?"

The man let out a single chuckle and shook his head. "No. What you did just then was stupid; I was the most expendable person in this operation… I trust you at least have evac on the way; it won't take them long to work their way around." Jaune growled angrily but bit his tongue and nodded. "Good, then let's go; I'd rather not be here when Desmond is…"

* * *

Blake sighed once more, another tear rolling down her cheek, today was full of disasters, from her fleeing Ruby's bedside when the girl was clearly experiencing a terrifying nightmare; to Weiss's life lesson; to Blake's own stubborn desire to be proven right almost resulting in Ruby being killed; to the revelation that Ruby had zero trust in Blake; to the conflict with Weiss once it was spilled that Blake had been lying to Team RWBY since day one; and even to now with the disappearance of an innocent and fragile fifteen year old girl who was in the middle of a near mental breakdown. Today was never going to be forgotten. Today was quite possibly the end of the line.

"She's not here either…" Blake spoke softly to no one in particular. She was alone in the forest, the heavy rain stinging against her yet unsealed but at least cleaned wounds. Her hand was resting against what had become known to RWBY and JNPR as "Crescent Oak", which was an oak tree of incredible size that was almost always covered in dew that would glisten every night when the moon was high in the sky and the Sun's reflected rays were being reflected from its leaves.

After their first date, this had become Ruby's favourite spot, and everyone else had also fallen in love with it too. It was a grand design of nature towering above the equally breath taking scenery, mirroring the man-made architecture that they all now called home. And yet right now it only brought Blake pain and anguish. "Where are you Ruby?" Blake asked whilst slumping against the tree's sturdy bark, her head fell into her hands as she silently whimpered to herself, taking the short time before she was expected to meet back up with Weiss and Yang in the empty dorm room to let out her emotions.

A few minutes passed with the wind increasing in ferocity, evolving rapidly into gale force, the now deafening sound combined with the torrential downpour of rain serving as an almost poetic reminder to Blake that she had failed. She sniffled one last time, wiping her face with her drenched hand, her purple eye shadow was now non-existence having been wiped away following her and Weiss's fight. _I need to get going _she mused inwardly, forcing herself back to a stable base and casting a parting glance to what had previously been a symbol of everlasting strength and unbreakable bonds before taking off back in the direction of Beacon.

* * *

"Ruby?" called Yang, her eyes hurriedly scanning every corner of the hallway she was in, she had no idea why she was searching the dorm's hallways but it seemed as good a distraction as any. She'd already visited the courtyard which housed that masterpiece of a statue, and the balcony of the Morpheus Building that Weiss had opted to tell the team about after her first little spat with Ruby on their first actual day at the academy.

Both places were tranquil and peaceful, free of the chaos that tore Team RWBY asunder in just one hour. They were almost perfect save for one small detail: Ruby wasn't there. "Ruby!?" she called out again, her voice doubling in volume as she hurried up a short flight of stairs to the third floor. The initial search was shorter than she had anticipated and so, unwilling to let the balcony or the courtyard remind her of the pain she did the one thing she could do: search within the vicinity of hers, Weiss's and Blake's rendezvous point. "RUBY!?" she shouted once more, her voice slightly shrill and most definitely loud enough to disturb anyone who was in their dorm. And it did just that.

Yang was pulled from her agonising, anguish invoking thoughts by the soft sound of a door slowly opening, she gave a soft, fake smile to the rabbit eared Faunus that peeked out, the girl glanced down each side of the corridor before settling on the blonde human, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinised the other girl's body. Yang gulped, forgetting her façade; it was useless anyways, Velvet had already seen straight through it. "Y-Yang?" the timid girl asked uncertainly. "Are-Are you okay?"

Yang ignored her question, the illusion was long shattered, the grandiose idea that she was fine was a forgotten concept and, at least to Velvet, she was not afraid to let her desperation and anxiety seep through. She gripped the shy girl by the shoulders earning a surprised squeal; the girl in her grasps however did not struggle. "Have you seen Ruby!?" Yang asked in a near demanding tone; it was more of a command to tell her where Ruby was rather than a question of whether she knew in the first place.

Velvet paused for thought "Your sister; the e-excitable redhead?" Velvet asked in an attempt to confirm the identity of the girl she'd not really spoken to or gotten to know over the last few months they'd been at Beacon.

"YES! Have you seen her?" Yang begged desperately, shaking the Faunus in her grasp, again without getting any real struggle in response, she just kept telling Yang the same thing: That she hadn't seen Ruby in three days. She also apologised profusely for not being of any more help to the distressed blonde who released her immediately after.

"No, I'm sorry. I-I just…" Yang exhaled loudly, her hands cup her cheeks, fingers wiping away tears that Yang refused to let flow. "I just-It's-" once she battled back the tears her hands rubbed down her cheeks in an attempt to feign exhaustion as a reason for her behaviour. "Ruby's missing and I don't know if I can find her…" she finally admitted softly, her voice betraying her body language and ceasing up as she croaked the words.

Velvet quickly encompassed her in her own arms awkwardly, clearly not accustomed to such a level of physical contact with someone she didn't truly know; the only girl she did really speak with from Team RWBY was actually Blake; and even her interactions with her were limited due to conflicting schedules. Regardless she found her own heart aching at the thought of a fellow student, one that had been nothing but kind to her whenever they did speak, being nowhere to be found.

She didn't whisper anything, or even try to soothe the blonde; Velvet was clueless as to how exactly to ease such pain and hopelessness; she just waited for Yang, hoping that her comforting support would suffice. A minute passed before Yang pulled away, breaking the embrace. Velvet gave a small smile, her hands moving from the other girl's back to her shoulders.

"You know what Yang?" she began, suddenly far more confident than Yang had ever heard her. The blonde just hummed in acknowledgement. "I think everything will work out in the end; nothing's ever black and white, and somewhere in those shades of grey will be a line of silver. You just gotta find it; embrace it; cherish it."

The busty brawler let out a short laugh, inadvertently shrugging off the rabbit girl's tender touch. "That is terrible…" she teased earning a smile from the usually shy Faunus. "But it's something I needed to hear, Weiss and Blake are still searching and, when they get back, if they haven't found her we'll just continue looking." Velvet's small smile turned into a wide grin as she commended Yang on her spirit. "Well…" she announced, pulling Velvet into a thankful hug. "I gotta go, Ruby never did beat me at hide and seek when we were younger, can't let her start now!" she announced boisterously.

Velvet knew it was false enthusiasm, but it was still enthusiasm, and with it came very real hope. "Well, what are you waiting for?" she asked whilst disentangling herself from the blonde. "Get going!" And with that Yang scurried off further down the corridor, the search for Ruby continuing.

* * *

Weiss let out an exasperated sigh as she stepped into Beacon Tower; the torch that stood proudly atop it was burning brighter and hotter than ever basking the entire tower in a warm glow that illuminated the room. It took Weiss a single glance to realise that, if Ruby was there then her shadow would be thrown against the wall by the wondrous light emitted from the raging fire that continued to burn above her.

The exasperation soon turned to rage and she let out a primal scream, her hatred of herself for everything she'd done in the last fifteen minutes, and the side effects of what she'd done boiling over and combining with her conflicted thoughts concerning Blake and her worry for her partner managing to tip her over the edge. "FUCK!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, her hands clenching tightly together, fingernails ripping into the flesh of her own hands.

She had to unleash her fury, she needed an outlet and Beacon Tower was the only spot she believed she could do it in a restrained way. If she went into the forest she'd have ripped Crescent Oak to shreds, and she didn't want to think about what would happen if a student saw her fall apart in the actual permitted school grounds.

She unsheathed Myrtenaster and spun on the spot, in moments the entire tower was coated in a paper thin layer of ice that began to immediately melt in the blistering heat of the Beacon. Pools of water formed at Weiss's feet as she ripped Myrtenaster from the ground. The fracture left in its otherwise unmarred surface would likely see her punishment for trespassing in search of Ruby doubled; but what was one more mistake in a night full of sins anyways?

"Ahem!"

That single noise made Weiss freeze; it was a noise she'd heard many times before, but not to her, never to her. It was Professor Ozpin, her headmaster, and the only person in the academy that she truly feared. "Pro-Professor Ozpin?" she asked as she pirouetted on the spot, coming face to face with the wise, aged and unreasonably intimidating man. "I'm-I'm sorry. I know I'm not supposed to be here, I just-"

"What are you doing here?" Ozpin asked pointedly, cutting Weiss off mid-excuse. She returned to her babbling, once again trying to lie to the smartest person she knew. "Miss Schnee, what is the matter?" he asked again, frustration evidently growing in his usually calm voice. He took a sip from his coffee before pressing his cane into the slightly lowered ground of the tower sending a ripple across the shallow surface of the water puddle before staring daggers at Weiss who attempted one last time to deceive him.

He groaned impatiently; tonight was not a night in which he could deal with a petulant child, especially not one he knew could easily grow to become one of the best damn huntresses his school had ever conditioned. "WEISS SCHNEE, TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON!" he shouted, Weiss inherent rambling came to an immediate halt; she'd never once heard Ozpin so much as raise his voice, let alone shout. She'd also never heard him use someone's full name in such context.

She gulped. "You-you've never used my first name before…"

Ozpin sighed exhaustedly. "And you've never used such foul language… or risked destroying the very symbol of hope, peace and safety that the kingdom of Vale has coveted for generations… or attempted to lie to me. Now stop avoiding the question."

Weiss cast her eyes down to the ground for a few short moments and let out a sigh of her own as she realised how stupid she had been acting. She slowly, cautiously picked her head up, her gaze straining to meet Ozpin's. His face was stern but understanding and welcoming despite his short outburst that Weiss now suspected was purposeful to snap her out of her stupor.

"It's… It's everything." Ozpin's own head pricked up, he set his mug down on one of the pillars that decorated the outside of the tower and pushed his glasses further up his nose. "Yang is an emotional wreck, Blake's not who we thought she was and Ruby's just-Ruby's gone without a trace."

Weiss's expression turned from scared and worried to curious and quizzical at Ozpin's response; a simple throaty hum, escaping from in between pursed lips. Ozpin waited for a few seconds before beginning to speak "Weiss, do you recall all those mistakes I mentioned the last time you and I spoke?" the girl just nodded. "I don't know exactly what you are implying regarding Blake, nor do I particularly care at this moment, but the one mistake I will always regret is letting an old friend walk away because of stubborn wounds that I refused to let heal."

Weiss's attention was now solely on Ozpin, her eyes meeting his as she listened intently. "I'm not asking you to forget whatever Blake maybe or may have done, but I assure you this: severing ties is a decision you WILL regret. Think about it before you make a choice you can't come back from."

Weiss swallowed hard. "I know…" she admittedly weakly as Ozpin continued her, a slight smile spread across his lips.

"Ms. Xiao Long…regardless of whether or not you believe you can be there for her, she needs you to be there for her. She's a strong and admirable woman, but even the bravest and hardiest of all warriors need their time to weep, they just seldom get the audience we take for granted." Weiss just nodded again, neglecting to tell Ozpin that she had already planned to do everything in her power to be there for Yang in the coming weeks, regardless of what happened between them, Blake and possibly Ruby.

She frowned when Ozpin turned on his heel and began to walk away, the one question she craved the answer to being left unanswered by one of the many teachers at Beacon that she idolised. He stopped just within ear shot of the girl however and yelled back very clearly. "You may want to check your scroll when you get back; I believe your father messaged you…"

Weiss did a double-take. _How odd… daddy never contacts me via the public scroll… _she gripped the scroll nestled within the purse she used to store her spare dust vials, sure enough the personal scroll engraved with the Schnee Family Sigil, the one unknown to, and untapped by the White Fang and the public at large was sitting within. _In fact… daddy never wanted to even commit the number to memory… _Weiss's eyes widened as she rushed out of Beacon Tower, casting one last longing gaze into the flame that was perched atop the magnificent architecture before heading to Team RWBY's dorm room, she had something to check.

* * *

Weiss had thought that she'd be the first one back into Team RWBY's dorm room but was surprised to find Yang sat on Ruby's bed, leaning against a wall "No luck, huh?" Yang asked solemnly. Weiss just shook her head in response before reaching underneath her bed and bringing out a suitcase. "I figured as much, Ruby's not on Morpheus Balcony or in the central courtyard either. I had a bit of spare time so I scoured the dorms as well. I'm starting to think she's no longer on academy grounds…"

"We don't know that, Blake could still find her in the forest." Weiss muttered; something was different though and Yang could sense it. Weiss was distracted and barely paying any attention to the conversation. Hearing the rustling of Weiss hurriedly emptying her suitcase in search of the scroll she rarely ever used; Yang peered down from Ruby's bed, her hair falling messily as gravity took over. Weiss looked behind her at Yang before letting out a restrained chuckle.

"You and Ruby are so alike…" she muttered before returning back to the suitcase and groaning in frustration, throwing the now empty leather case onto the floor and beginning to hurriedly search through her bed, making a mess of it as she did so. "Goddammit where is it!?" Weiss shouted angrily causing Yang to wince. Weiss wasn't even sure why she was searching, it was just something about Ozpin; everything he did was deliberate, there had to be a reason why he would add such an off-handed comment.

"What are you looking for?" Yang asked tentatively, exercising familiar caution that had to be employed anytime one was speaking to a frustrated Weiss.

"My scroll…" Weiss hissed, earning an exhausted sigh and a raised eyebrow from Yang in doing so.

Yang pulled herself back up into a seated position on her sister's bed, now raising her voice to keep Weiss's attention "Oh, that old thing?" Yang quickly reached beneath Ruby's pillow and pulled out the academy scroll that belonged to the heiress. "You let Ruby borrow it last week so she could listen to your favourite songs remember?" Yang stated, re-appearing before Weiss in the same upside down position she was in last time. She reached out a hand, holding out the scroll before Weiss who swiped it hurriedly but nevertheless took the time to thank her friend.

The door opened as Weiss began flicking through the menus on her scroll in order to bring up the recent messages list. Blake sauntered in soaking wet and immediately set about changing causing Yang to blush and look away, something that went unnoticed in the panic of the day. Weiss let out a gasp as Blake slipped on a fresh black vest over her spare shirt. "What is it?" the Faunus asked, momentarily forgetting the yet unresolved conflict between her and her friend.

Weiss passed her scroll to Blake absent-mindedly. "Ozpin said my father sent me a message on my academy scroll… the only thing that's changed in the last half hour is one message… sent from me to my father." Blake's eyes widened as she double tapped the screen and began to read the message.

_Father, the classified dust shipment has been sent via the Forest of Forever Fall as per our previous arrangements. Ms. Weiss Schnee, SDC._

Blake gulped as it dawned on her that Weiss never sent the message, she COULDN'T have sent the message when she was holding a rapier to her very own throat at the time. Weiss was looking at Blake expectantly, waiting for the Faunus to confirm what she already feared. Blake nodded in response. "That's the same track the White Fang attacked last year when they robbed your family's company of an entire dust shipment." Blake winced at her words before appending: "The same track I attacked last year."

Weiss flinched and her face contorted but Yang hopped down and quickly placed herself in between the two girls, still uncertain as to exactly what could happen if things escalated once again; and what would happen once Ruby was found. "So what exactly are you saying Blake?"

Weiss intervened on Blake's behalf pointing to the empty space on her menu where her encryption programs are on her personal scroll. "Ruby knows that this scroll lacks the encryption algorithm and the other security safeguards of my other scroll; she knows the White Fang will intercept the message; and that they will be able to read it… And if she's not on academy grounds…"

"They also stopped monitoring your comm chatter Weiss." Blake added. "Save for keywords, which this message contains; they pay little attention to your communications; or at least did pay little attention. They know you're not stupid enough to risk messaging your father via an academy scroll." Weiss's face began to pale as did Yang as the gravity of the situation dawned on them. "The White Fang will know this is a trap…"


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: **Sorry about the delay on this chapter, for some reason I just could not figure out how to go about writing it. Also we've been having some internet troubles over the last few days. The good news however is that Chapter 20 was actually finished before Chapter 19 so it is ready to go at this very instant. I'll probably wait a few days though since it WILL be the last Nightshade and Roses chapter to be uploaded until close to July. The same Author's Note end applies here as well: Read, enjoy, if you enjoy enough fave/follow and all reviews are appreciated and are for both our benefits!

**Chapter 19: A Rose's Thorns**

He hadn't been here in a long time. There was once a time, in which, he couldn't go a day without Blake dragging him here to gaze at the beautiful scenery, the autumn leaves still reminded him of her calm and collected demeanour. No matter how much he tried to forget, no matter what he did to convince himself that she was the enemy, every day he was finding it harder to deny the fact that Blake was the one who had actually saved lives, Blake was the one making a difference in the world right now.

He didn't know exactly why he was thinking of Blake this much, it had been over a year now and he'd come to terms with her change of heart. Perhaps the Triumvirate had something to do with it.

"_As much as one member of the triumvirate would simply love to sentence you to death as a war criminal, the rest of us feel like you were… mistreated. Our faith in you was shattered, that much is true, but you did not deserve your place as Roman's lapdog."_

"_On the contrary brother: death as a Severed Claw would do us little use but glorify this failure. I suggested we cut our losses and give Desmond this mission."_

"_No! Regardless of what you or anyone of us wants, you know why this mission must be a chance at redemption. It has to be Adam here…"_

Adam shivered at the chilling memories from earlier today, and shivered once again as he realised how close he was to the edge of the cliff as he peered down to the train tracks, eyes focussed on the familiar scene from behind his mask. He let out a chuckle at the idea of redemption, the White Fang's governing body weren't ones for second chances, when Blake betrayed them they demanded her head, delivered whilst still attached to Wilt's stained blade. The more he turned the words over in his mind the more unnerved he became. They hadn't told him everything.

"_It would seem our spy failed to intercept vital communications between the president and his precious daughter… a well-kept secret is currently travelling along the Dusty Trail. We believe you are… familiar… with the area."_

He pointed out to them there and then that the idea of anyone picking up communication between Weiss Schnee and her father was entirely naïve. Again, their response gave him pause for thought. They echoed his beliefs; they recognised that Weiss would, in all likelihood, not be careless enough to send such a message via a public scroll. Adam groaned and kicked a stray rock over the cliff edge listening contently to the surprisingly tranquil sound of the rock cracking against the cliff's steep terrain as it bounced playfully down the cliff face.

"_You're going to need a new partner Adam…"_

"_Here's to hoping you can actually keep this one from running away before the dust shipment is secured…"_

Adam grimaced at the reminder of his past failures, the reminder of the one reason he was able to hold a small amount of resentment for Blake at what she had done. But all that proved to do was bring his mind full circle, once more he mused about Blake, about how she did everything in her power to escape the White Fang, and how the White Fang did everything in their power to neutralise her the second she cut ties and ran.

He had no idea exactly what the White Fang's agenda was today, but he found himself doubting both outcomes. If this was indeed a trap, then the White Fang's yougnest leader would get his corpse. If this wasn't a trap and he managed to pull off a Schnee Dust Company train heist without a hitch then he'd redeem himself…. Though the more he thought about it the more he wondered if he desired "redemption" or was the disgusted at the prospect of being forgiven by what could only be considered monsters.

He exhaled loudly, thinking over his conundrum once again, he visualised the branching paths that his potential decisions would lead him down. He exhaled again as he realised that every path seemed to end up at the same point, Adam alone in a world that hated him. He'd have to kill to survive anyways, and what are a few more sins in a lifetime of living on the wrong side of a bullet? The hum of the train's engines and click-clack of it's wheels on the railway pulled him back to the real world.

"_We don't need promises Adam. We need results. I am forced to offer you redemption, the least you can do is not screw up... I assure you our contingency concerning you is NOT something you would prefer…"_

He spied the freight train and took off from his scouting position, a familiar scene played out before his very eyes as he dashed through the forest, duck and weaving between twigs, branches and thick logs of wood. Dashing with a purpose through the abundance of red, orange and yellow leaves that made the Forest of Forever Fall such a beautiful, complex and wonderfully unfathomable place to be. And then he ground to a halt. A sense of de ja vu washed over him as he spied his partner in a position that stung him deep down.

There on the rocks was a fox Faunus, a sad look on her face as she gazed up at the sun, the dark clothing she opted to wear as her combat gear striking a sharp contrast with the bright scenery that fascinated her. That red, purple and black bundle of ribbons he'd become oh so familiar with over the last 11 years suddenly reminding him of the girl he trained, the girl he protected, the girl whom, to this day, with the help of his very partner, he kept safe from the side lines. It gave him a whole new excuse to do this.

"Kiera." he called. "It's time."

Emerald green eyes cast a short sideways glance at Adam. "Okay." she said submissively to her superior and hopped off of her boulder and brushed herself down. A hand absently checked for her two katanas and, more importantly for Asi, her first ever and still most powerful weapon, and the bracelet that adorned her wrist, the last remaining memory of her mother.

It didn't take long for the duo to arrive at the Dusty Trail. It was just outside of the Forest of Forever Fall and Adam had asked Kiera to stay relatively close just in case he messed up the timing and their window to make the necessary jump shortened. Kiera laughed at her friend, both the notion that she NEEDED to jump, and the notion that he'd be anything less than focussed and ready amusing her to no end. She hummed contentedly as she heard the oncoming train.

She cast a quick glance to her partner who just nodded before taking off down the steep slope of the cliff. Kiera just smiled and pulled a pistol from her the holster that adorned her right thigh. A satisfying click sounded as she attached the pistol to the heirloom of her real family. She gave a stiff tug, the ribbons coming undone and revealing her marred flesh.

With a single flail of her arm the nine ribbons of black, red and purple colour came to life effortlessly wrapping around the branch of a solitary tree, she tugged on the ribbon and jumped forward, her finger pressed against the trigger of her weapon, a stream of bullets propelling her forward. At the height of her arc she leapt off, the ribbons unbinding the tree and the girl flying through the air landing flawlessly on the train without so much as a dirty heel.

Adam landed merely half a second later, Wilt slicing into the roof of the train car stopping his momentum dead. "Show off…" he teased earning a smile from Kiera.

"Hypocrite." she retorted back lightning fast before they shot off down the train in search of a hatch to lead them to the first of the cargo train cars. When they arrived at the hatch, Adam popped it open and hopped down into the car. Kiera re-adorned her arm with her cat o' nine tails style whip, the barrel of her gun hanging limply from her wrist. It likely wouldn't get in the way, and the whip would do little good against the metal cannon fodder that undoubtedly awaited her.

Adam got another sense of de ja vu as Kiera landed next to him, her hands already reached for the katanas sheathed on her back but now wasn't the time to get distracted. Before the androids could even attempt to recognise Adam as friend or foe the Faunus sprung forward firing Blush to propel Wilt into a powerful arc that sliced through three of them, dissecting them in half. With the fight initiated the AK-130s opened fire, in near synchronicity both operatives charged forwards each deflecting the poorly aimed shots from the dozen robots that surrounded them with ease.

Once they were in reach they proceeded to tear the robots into tiny pieces. Kiera weaved elegantly in between the androids' sloppy attacks with the grace of a ballerina before making precise cuts to weak spots, every hit maximising damage and guaranteeing the destruction of its victim. In stark contrast Adam used his speed and power to parry away each and every blow, opting to intercept and overpower rather than evade and counterattack. His attacks were erratic and unpredictable and simply aimed to slaughter the security mechs regardless of efficiency.

It didn't take long for the pair of freedom fighters to clear the train car of its ineffective guardians and soon the tables were turned with Adam and Kiera each teeing off on a single mech in a game of one upsmanship until Adam got bored and blasted its head clean off. Kiera gave him a wry smirk as he gazed at the symbol on the container. "Spoil sport."

Adam just gave a single throaty chuckle before pulling one of the containers open. His smile however faded as he saw the contents of the crate: an assortment of fire arms and steel blades forged by Asimov Industries. "Kiera get out of sight, now!" he ordered, before she could comply yet another familiar event occurred: a spider droid dropped from the roof. "I guess I should have seen that one coming…"

Kiera sheathed her katanas and gripped her pistol again; another tug and the ribbons came loose yet again. She cracked her neck as the spider droid took aim at her. "Can I kill this first?" she asked rhetorically. Adam just left the train car; he had more important things to worry about; like exactly who was here for his and Kiera's blood. And besides Kiera was a big girl; she could take care of herself… especially when she had that inexplicably powerful dagger of hers.

Line Break

He barely reached the open cargo bay by the time he caught a glimpse of Kiera, seemingly having defeated the Spider Droid with ease, taking cover atop one of the train cars. His attention was quickly drawn to the black and red themed girl perched atop the roof of the engine car. The girl was stood with Crescent Rose in scythe form and at the ready, red cloak billowing in the wind. "Ruby?" asked Adam as he saw a passionate yet murderous glint in her eyes.

He swallowed hard, he'd not felt fear on the battlefield in a long time. This Ruby wasn't the same Ruby he had encountered at the White Fang ruins, and certainly differed from the Ruby he had seen lovingly spending time with Blake but a mere few weeks ago. A greater fear that dawned on him however was that THIS was exactly why it had to be him, the triumvirate knew it would be one of Team RWBY that set up the trap, and seemed to using Ruby's life as a test for Adam's loyalty.

Before a single word was spoken Ruby had dropped from the engine car and landed with a thud on the train's main body, Crescent Rose fired two shots behind her to propel her forward, the scythe's blade shortened, the arc lessening before the blade itself twisted. Ruby blasted forward like a human buzzsaw, twirling through the air. A surprised Adam recovered just quick enough to jump to the left, Crescent Rose's blade still sliced into his back, shredding his skin and certainly slowing him down.

Ruby stopped herself before she hit the side of the train and shot the ground, her lithe frame bouncing into the air before Adam could recover and take notice of her position. The Faunus glanced around in search of her; his attention was brought to the sky by Crescent Rose shifting into gun form and Ruby let forth a hail of sniper rounds that Adam dodged with ease.

As Ruby neared the ground her scythe extended again and she pirouetted, her weapon slicing horizontally across and slamming into Adam's deftly drawn ninjatō, the force of the impact pushed Adam back several feet and he sheathed his blade.

"Where are the rest of them?" Ruby spat, her eyes darting around seemingly in search of Adam's reinforcements.

"Where do you think?" Adam spat back venomously before dashing forward repeating the same technique he had used on the trio of AK-130s moments prior. Ruby however was far more agile and back stepped with ease, Wilt barely nicking the cloth of Ruby's combat skirt. Ruby counter attacked with an overhead slice which Adam sidestepped away from flawlessly resulting in Crescent Rose slamming into the ground and Adam drew Wilt once again delivering several slashing attacks at the teen.

The redheaded girl swiftly dodged each attack, her body seeming to dance around the ninja blade and drawing Adam in front of Crescent Rose before she back flipped away from one last horizontal slash, landed on her weapon of choice and pulled the trigger. Blush was raised to deflect the round, the force again sending Adam skidding across the floor but never taking him truly of balance. Ruby was sent flying in the opposite direction by the recoil of her scythe and landed flawlessly before slinging her scythe under her arm and loosing several more rounds.

Adam smiled and prepared, anticipating the same technique she had first caught him off-guard with. However the tiny girl disappeared in a storm of rose petals before appearing behind her enemy. Adam heard her feet slam into the ground and rotated his own body, Wilt rising just in time to protect his midsection from the massive blade of the young prodigy's weapon.

For the first time Adam's balance faltered, the momentum of Crescent Rose pushing him to the right; momentum that became Adam's momentum and was quickly converted to inertia as he rolled forward, spun himself around and pulled the trigger of Blush. The weapon fired and a round slammed into Ruby; her aura flared and the girl flew back with a scream and landed hard on the ground.

Adam dashed forward, Wilt finding its place back within the barrel of Blush and he pulled the trigger. The blood red blade of his sword was little more than a blur as it sped towards the downed body of Ruby. His eyes widened from beneath his mask as he sliced through a single petal.

"Impressive…" he commended in disbelief as Ruby appeared to rematerialize several feet way. Her aura had managed to completely block Blush's powerful shot. Whether or not he broke anything he couldn't tell but the shot itself didn't do any external damage. "So was this all your plan was? Lay a trap and hope I was the operative they sent?" He took note of the fact that she also seemed to have more than a few wounds he never inflicted.

"I'd have gotten you sooner or later…" Ruby hissed venomously, the girl's voice was infused with the same sadistic, cold-blooded tone that Adam himself often used. "The fact you arrived now was just an added bonus." And with that Ruby dashed forward, sick of playing defense Adam did the same; he couldn't outmatch her speed if she used her semblance or her weapon, but in close quarters she'd either drain her energy quickly with her super speed, or wouldn't be able to properly use Crescent Rose's recoil to enhance her agility.

Recognising the self-same thing Ruby prepared herself, planting her feet firmly to the ground and stabilising her centre of gravity. Adam was upon her within seconds and she began to spin Crescent Rose in all manner of direction as Adam zoomed around her. His speed was unbelievable and Ruby gulped as she realised she was falling behind, with each attack she was taking a few milliseconds longer to pivot and parry away his new strike. She was getting overwhelmed and soon he would actually land a hit.

Having only one option Ruby activated her semblance; Adam was sparring with a group of falling rose petals for a short few seconds as Ruby landed safely several feet away. Seeing Adam momentarily confused Ruby aimed to take advantage. Activating her semblance she appeared behind him, she hesitated slightly as she heard a sick chuckle escape her opponent. That single pause for thought was Ruby's biggest mistake and Adam turned on the spot and sliced at Ruby's gut, she back stepped slightly but didn't escape the attack entirely as the blade cut into her flesh. "Predictable though…"

Ruby stumbled backwards and let out a cough before falling to one knee and clutching her stomach with her left hand. _Okay Ruby, don't panic; everything is fine, you can't feel your organs so the cut can't be that deep. You're going to be okay._ The red haired human reasoned with herself. Adam was already dashed forward; the next slice would surely target her throat. Ruby dropped her scythe to the ground and Adam smiled as his confidence grew; it was a rookie mistake, one that ordinarily he wouldn't have made, and yet he did make it.

Adam stopped in front of Ruby and slashed putting all of his power into the attack, the arc went wider than expected and he stumbled forward. Ruby had gone, as had her scythe. A second later and Adam felt the outer edge of Crescent Rose carve across his thigh, slicing straight through the flesh and scraping against the bone. Adam howled in pain before dropping to one knee. Ruby wasn't finished however and before Adam could recover her felt a searing pain in his calf; he felt his skin shred, his muscle tear and his bone shatter as Crescent Rose's blade was driven into the back of his leg, pinning him to the floor.

Once his screams died away all Adam could hear was the heavy breathing of Ruby. "This was all your fault." she spat strolling around to Adam's front so she could see his face contorted in agony. "She would've been perfect. Blake WAS flawless…" Adam couldn't help but release a cynical, dark and sarcastic laugh; he was going to die as a result of a lover's scorn… "You were supposed to protect her Adam!" she shouted, her voice reaching a fever pitch, her screams almost feral. "YOU LET THEM CORRUPT HER!" she shouted before disappearing in another haze of petals.

This time Adam didn't hear her footsteps. Before that the same searing pain he felt before returned as Ruby ripped Crescent Rose from Adam's leg decimating the sinews, bones, muscles and vessels within it. "You're wrong you know Ruby…" he croaked out in between his pained groans. "Blake wasn't the one the White Fang corrupted, she wouldn't let them…"

Ruby raised her sniper scythe into the air, readying herself for the downward arc that would begin to right the wrongs in her life. "She's not the monster Sun inadvertently made her out to be..." Crescent Rose was now at its peak height, a simply pull of the trigger would end Adam's life. "She's just… your average teenage girl… of course she's not perfect." Ruby's finger pressed against the trigger but the shot never fired, Ruby heard a whistling sound followed by a soft slapping as a collection of ribbons wrapped around her weapon of choice.

Before she realised what was happening Crescent Rose was pried from her grasp with a swift and powerful wrench. A second later and those same ribbons lashed across her back, tearing into her combat skirt and skin. Ruby cried out in pain and collapsed to her knees. Another howl escaped her throat as the lashes came down once more, burning into her back and ripping at the flesh, crimson now beginning to flow as the four gashes reddened.

"Wait!" commanded Adam as Ruby felt a cold steel blade press against her jugular. Adam took a few short seconds to bind his two heavily bleeding wounds before sitting up to face the kneeling Ruby. He pulled away his mask allowing the redhead a glimpse into is eyes. "Ruby, you're wrong about Blake; yes she lied to you; yes she used to be a member of the White Fang; and yes she has her regrets."

Adam seethed in pain for a short while and Kiera glanced at him with a concerned look in her eyes, Adam waved her off as he slowly recovered. "But she wasn't a monster. She only killed two people during White Fang operations… the first was an accident born of self-defence, the second was revenge against a man that murdered her father." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace, he pulled the crest open to reveal a photo and threw it down in front of Ruby. "But aren't you doing the exact same by targeting me?"

Ruby glanced down at the photo: four Faunus, none of the same race, were together; they looked like a happy family. One in particular struck her, a small brunette with amber eyes and a pair of black cat ears. "Following that kill she swore to protect humanity during our assignments, she literally saved dozens of life, her influence combined with the influence of others gave birth to a short time in which original White Fang members did all in their power to minimise casualties… When she left she saved over a dozen human lives, lives that I believed to be expendable! I'm the monster Ruby; I'm the corrupted soul here!"

His voice rose towards the end of his speech and with it his body attempted to get more animated, the pain in his useless leg quickly quelling such actions. "Adam we need to get out of here!" Kiera shouted as she gave up on restraining the broken redhead.

"NO!" shouted Ruby, tears were now filling her eyes, Kiera could feel her entire body shaking and could tell it wasn't out of fear… or anger. "Adam I need you to tell me EVERYTHING about Blake." Kiera released the girl and helped up Adam whilst also reaching a hand to her human ear to call in evac. "Please…" pleaded Ruby, Adam died a little on the inside, those same niggling doubts from earlier returning.

"Fine…" he muttered earning a shocked and clearly frustrated stare from his partner. The fox Faunus did nothing to argue against the asinine decision and instead set her partner back down, immediately setting about treating his wounds to the best of her abilities. "What do you want to know?"

* * *

The sun had long set by the time Team JNPR caught their first glimpse of Beacon from the sky. Pyrrha had been treated on the ship ride back but had nevertheless submitted to Jaune's desire to take her to the infirmary when they landed. Ren and Nora were in surprisingly high spirits, which meant Nora was euphoric, which was never a good thing for Ren. Jaune couldn't suppress a laugh when the excited redhead pulled Ren away yelling something about how they need to practise "Plan Sloth".

However with Pyrrha in the infirmary and his other two teammates god knows where, that left Jaune as the only member of his team in Ozpin's office alongside the hunter who saved his team's life. Ozpin was also there, mug in one hand and scroll in the other. "And you are sure the Chimera you saw was identical to the one described by Ms. Belladonna?"

"Yes sir… well it wasn't identical per se, it appears as if the one we encountered was closer to being… complete?" Jaune sounded entirely unsure, he wasn't good with words and it was usually Ren who handled the talking during briefings and debriefings.

"This is very troubling news indeed…" Ozpin claimed offhandedly, pointing out the obvious in doing so as he looked over the mission summary. "If they are manufacturing patchwork Grimm then we need to strike the source BEFORE they can make their own move. Luckily with the Chimera incinerated they have to start from scratch…that is IF the ultimate Chimera is the one incinerated and IF they were not working on more… Our own attempts at replicating their research suggest that this is a relatively slow process."

Jaune went wide-eyed in disbelieving horror. "You've been doing the same thing?"

"Of course, we cannot begin to understand these monstrosities without studying them, and we cannot study them in nature, nor do any such creatures exist outside of White Fang laboratories. We had to grow our own. We've yet to succeed on a scale as grand as some of the creatures we've seen… but we have succeeded using infants… as I said it was a slow process. We can't know for sure but the destruction of that Chimera could perhaps have set them back weeks."

Jaune couldn't suppress a gulp "Only weeks?"

Ozpin nodded solemnly. "Unfortunately that is the case. And we now have Team RWBY to be concerned with as well…"

The blonde snapped to attention upon hearing those words. "What's going on with Ruby's team?" he asked, desperation and worry in his voice that caused Ozpin to flinch and lower his mug.

"I'm afraid I do not know..."

The hunter in the room took a step forward and slammed a hand on the table. "Apologies for interrupting but we've got far bigger issues than the first world problems of some schoolgirls, headmaster." He heard a low, frustrated groan escape Ozpin's throat and took a step back, his head hand leaving the table. "I'm sorry, I meant no offense. It's just… the White Fang right now threatens all of Vale, perhaps all of Vytal, even Remnant itself. We NEED a plan."

The headmaster let out a sigh before casting another glance at the short amount of information on his scroll. "You're right Alexander." He surrendered before turning to Jaune. "I'm sorry to further burden you but could you and your team produce a full report on what happened inside the White Fang's research facility?" Jaune nodded obediently. "Good, Alexander" he turned to face the hunter. "I need you to contact your team. Yourself, O'Malley, Connor and Bex are hereby assigned to all White Fang related missions."

Alexander nodded curtly before leaving, knowing that he and Ozpin had nothing more to say to one another. "Jaune, once the report is finished I want your team to rest up and do what you can to help Team RWBY through this difficult time. Could you also tell Team SLVR of the fourth year to coordinate with Glynda over reinforcements for the city? I don't believe it will come to all-out war but…" he trailed off there, Jaune clearly understanding why it was necessary to fortify the kingdom. "You are dismissed…" he finally said and Jaune gave a bow before disappearing.

* * *

Ruby didn't know how long she had been alone for after Adam and Kiera had left. Adam had surprisingly done as she had asked and told her everything he believed necessary for Ruby to know about Blake. She didn't know why she had been left alive, and she doubted Adam knew either, but she had.

Unfortunately being alone meant she only had her thoughts to occupy her mind; thoughts that she didn't want to address. For a long while she concentrated her aura on her wounds, sealing up cuts to the best of her abilities. Once the cold got to her she sought shelter within one of the train cars. However now her aura was exhausted, and she had nothing to do and as a result was forced to think. The regret, the guilt, the hatred, the love, the disgust; all of it bubbled to the surface now that she lacked something to hide it behind.

She didn't know how she felt about Blake, or how she felt about Weiss. The only reason she believed Adam was because he had no reason to lie. Blake was CLEARLY not White Fang anymore and Ruby believed her when she said she severed connection with him. She didn't know why she believed her after everything she had learned today, but she did.

"RUBY!?" came a faint shout, suppressed by the inches of steel that separated her from the cold night wind. She heard a loud thud as a girl who was undoubtedly Yang landed on the one train car that was stained with blood. "RUBY!?" she shouted again, two more thuds were heard, lighter this time, almost cat-like. Two more voices were heard shouting around, their anger born of being worry-stricken was accidentally directed towards one another.

"Where is she?"

"How am I supposed to know!?"

"I'm in here!" shouted Ruby weakly; there was no way the trio heard that. Ruby reached over to Crescent Rose and pressed her callous finger to the trigger and gave it a pathetic tug, the chambered round fired, inadvertently blasting through one of the, thankfully near-empty, cargo containers.

"What was that?"

"RUBY!"

The ringing in her ears from firing Crescent Rose in such close proximity was washed away by the resounding thuds of three girls dashing her way, the door was kicked open and the entire room illuminated by an incandescently burning Yang. "RUBY!" her sister shouter, the flame's extinguished immediately returning the train car to near pitch black darkness as her sister bounded over and hugged her tight. "Ruby, are you okay? Are you hurt? I'm so glad you're safe!"

Ruby ignored the frantic questioning of her anxious and worried sister; she couldn't even answer them anyways. Her eyes met Weiss's and both girls flinched as they saw the regret and self-loathing they harboured for themselves reflected in the eyes of their partner. The gaze only lasted a short while before Ruby's flickered over to Blake. The older girl winced, recoiling into herself as she saw the look of absolute apathy that glazed over her eyes when she looked her way. "Blake, I need you to tell me, tell US, EVERYTHING."

"Nu-uh!" shouted Yang "We don't do anything until I know you're okay Ruby; let me at least look over your wounds." Ruby sighed, her lips tugging into a small smile.

"Okay…" she surrendered, though she never really had a choice, Yang was already inspecting every inch of her sister's body whilst pulling out the numerous medical supplies she stored in the belt that framed her black shorts. "But afterwards Blake… you need to talk."

Blake nodded submissively. "Of course, where do you want me to begin?"

"From the start…"

* * *

"How very disappointing Ms. D'Branco… We were expecting more from you and Adam but you could not even defeat ONE little girl?"

"Looks can be deceiving. I would suggest you do not underestimate any of the students of Beacon Academy… especially not Ms. Belladonna, Ms. Schnee or Ms. Rose."

"Then we shall also be wary of the wild card of their team too."

Kiera's conversation with one of the triumvirate was interrupted by the sound of the door opening, after a tense few moments she was greeted by four humans. "Just as well you should." hummed one of the two younger girls to have entered the room. "Yang Xiao Long is a highly skilled fighter."

"Yeah we should know…" grumbled the second girl; the two appeared to be twins; one clad in red and the other in white. Kiera suppressed her amusement, even scolded herself for it, she herself exemplified why you should not judge books by their cover.

"That's enough you two." Commanded the older woman before turning to the triumvirate, she was absolutely fearless and resolute in the face of the three most powerful Faunus that Kiera had ever had the privilege to meet. "Now Roman here tells me that yet another one of your research facilities was attacked is that right?"

"That is correct." confirmed the eldest member of the triumvirate.

"How disappointing, you promised us that your scientists were capable of succeeding and yet we have nothing to show for it." The triumvirate went to speak but the woman cut them off. "I am not interested in your excuses! We have delivered you all the dust you will ever need. But our combined armies are not enough! If we are to take Vale then we need results!"

"Calm down Ms. Fall. We have the situation under control. Desmond is overseeing the Chimera Project as we speak. Within a fortnight we should have a finished specimen ready to unleash in the Forest of Forever Fall. We trust that you still have some of the lesser Chimera stored within the Emerald Forest?"

Cinder let out confident laugh, feigning offense at the triumvirate's question. "But of course, unlike you we are ready…"

"Then continue with preparations Ms. Fall!" shouted the youngest of the triumvirate, the first one to speak that wasn't the elder. "We are still on schedule and until a day comes that we are not, you have no reason to question OUR capabilities. And you would be wise to take the same advice that Kiera here preaches. Do not underestimate us you petulant fool!"

Cinder was paying the aggressive young leader no mind, she was just laughing in amusement at his tantrum. "That is enough!" called the middle-aged triumvirate member. Cinder for the first time obeyed. "Preparations will continue. Research will continue. And the gathering of dust, Grimm and other allies WILL continue. We attack at the break of the first dawn after the next full moon. Anybody who compromises that will be dealt with by me personally. EVERYONE IS DISMISSED!"


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Origins of an Enigma**

**Present Day**

"Well… if you really wanna go that far back I'll just be reiterating myself; everything up until the White Fang's leadership change was as true as can be… My mother died in the emergency room whilst giving birth to me, my father suffered from some form of psychological ailment as a result of the loss that prevented him from being cleared to care for me on his own and I was shipped off to an orphanage."

Blake took a moment to glance around the train car. Weiss was stood halfway between Blake and the rest of Team RWBY using Myrtenaster to maintain balance on the moving vehicle. Her stance was that of a consummate professional, she was all ears, her lips pursed and her eyes occasionally staring into thin air as she mulled over every last detail.

Ruby and Yang were sat opposite Blake, Ruby's shredded shirt had been removed and Yang's jacket was draped over her like a blanket, protecting her modesty whilst shielding her from the cold chill of the night that had descended upon Vale.

Yang seemed to be in her own little world, only half listening as she tended to her wounded sister. Ruby's stomach had been immediately bandaged using Weiss's bolero jacket which was now stained sanguine and Yang had begun kneading Ruby's back. In true Yang fashion she was being careful so as to avoid the four crimson red lash marks that marred Ruby's pale flesh whilst still doing enough to massage the wounded areas. Ruby was somewhat relaxed and Blake flashed Yang a grateful smile when their eyes met.

Ruby, for her part, despite clearly letting herself sink into the soft, comforting embrace of her sister still seemed focussed entirely on her girlfriend. Hey silver eyes were strangely sharp and studiously observed Blake's form causing the older girl to shiver anxiously. Adam had told Ruby everything Ruby believed she needed to know about the girl she fell in love with; she just needed Blake herself to repeat it.

"The children were unknowingly cruel; they couldn't comprehend the malice behind their actions. How could I even begin to blame them for their innocent and accidental victimisation of me? Of course I was miserable but I couldn't do anything about it save for taking matters into my own hands, and that was something I never even dreamed of doing. It wasn't all bad, but I'd be lying if I said the day the White Fang arrived to inspect the place would always have been a day too late… Obviously everything changed shortly thereafter when I was adopted, second only to Adam to be recruited in such a way."

Yang's fingers dropped from Ruby's shoulders and she opted to instead wrap her arms around the younger girl's form pulling her close and rested her own head atop her sibling's. Weiss's stance had notably shifted; her stiff posture softening as Blake recounted her early days.

"You really want to know everything? Then I guess I should start there…"

**Twelve Years Ago…**

"Oh, Adam!" called out Blake's foster parent as he opened the penthouse door and stepped inside. Blake smiled and rushed in from behind pushing past her new father's left leg and bounding into the wide open space, a joyful laugh resounding throughout the room as she did so. "Calm down pumpkin!" he called after her with a light chuckle.

Blake however was already preoccupied. She was staring in awe at the paintings that lined the walls whilst absentmindedly flicking through the books that lined the shelves beneath one of the paintings, one that depicted a handshake between a human male and Faunus female. The human had a wide, friendly smirk and an innocent glint in his eyes. The Faunus for her part looked grateful. "Sorry daddy!" the five year old cat Faunus called out, her small hand gripping to "The Hollowed Princess".

The man just shook his head as he strolled into the room. "Please, just call me Vic." he said warmly as his eyes settled on the book in Blake's grasp, he patted her on her shoulder and smiled. "That's a little darker than the fairy tales Adam is used to, though it does lack the cool action scenes."

"Who's Adam?" asked Blake innocently whilst bounding over to the corner unit couch that lined the back wall and throwing herself onto the largest cushion, nestling herself into the very corner. She flicked open the book and started reading as Vic set about pouring some juice for both her and her new brother.

"Adam is your older brother, from here on out you two are family; and I truly believe you to will get along just fine." He walked over to Blake and handed her the beaker of juice as well as a cookie, she took them with a "thanks" before happily returning to the book she was seemingly glued to. "Speaking of the devil, I bet he's asleep…"

Blake peered up from her book curiously as Vic disappeared down a short hallway; she placed her drink carefully on the floor before practically bounding off of the sofa and followed her new guardian. A few seconds later and she came to a short stop just outside of a white door. Vic pushed it open before holding a finger to his lips. "Shhh… He's sleeping." He said as Blake squeezed in between the gap barely containing her energy.

Sure enough there was a brown-haired boy in rose emblazoned pyjamas passed out atop a set of bedding that seemed to depict some superheroes that Blake couldn't recognise. She cast a glance back at Vic with puppy dog eyes and he returned a devilish smirk. "Well? What are you waiting for?" he said to which Blake dashed across the room and jumped playfully onto the older boy's bed and began to bounce up and down.

Blake heard a groan only for it to turn into a boisterous laugh, an instant later and she was tackled off of the bed and began wrestling on the crimson carpet with her new brother. During the struggle Adam managed to pin her arms to the ground with his knees but he raised his knees slightly, ridding himself of his leverage advantage and Blake twisted, throwing the older male off of her before proudly pinning his arms to the ground. "Pinned ya!" Blake exclaimed with a smirk, she knew he let her win but she didn't care.

"Pinned you first." retorted her adoptive brother to which she resorted to sticking her tongue out.

"Okay you two, break it up; your mother will be back with dinner in half an hour, until then why don't you go and play in the living room?" The two children just shouted incoherently but somehow in unison before forcing their way past their foster parent and fleeing into the massive living room. He smiled and shook his head. "Kids these days…"

**Present Day…**

Yang now had a wide smile on her face and was gazing adoringly at Ruby. The redhead's own expression had changed for the first time since Blake, Weiss and Yang arrived on the train. Adam never told her about the good times; just the four events concerning Blake that he believed mattered most to Ruby. It warmed her heart to know that Blake at least had a kind family, even if what followed was the depressing bit.

"The year that followed that day was largely uneventful, Adam was the best brother anyone could ever wish for and Vic and Paige were even better parents. Life was good for a while, normal even. Eight o'clock bed times, TV dinners, Dora the Explorer and enthralling stories became almost daily ritual. There was schoolwork ofcourse; Adam hated it but I loved it; I even ended up helping him with his own work despite him being a few years my senior, like I said: everything was normal."

Blake's face dropped, her head falling to the ground as she reminisced on a memory that cut her deeply, one that she'd unconsciously been trying to forget. She let out a hiss of pain as she placed unnecessary pressure on the minor cuts across her neck. The sound of heels clacking against the train car's floor echoed through the car itself caused Blake to peer back up with another wince. Weiss was now standing in front of her and hesitantly reached an arm out, placing it on the black-themed girl's shoulder.

Weiss gave her the weakest attempt at a reassuring smile Blake had ever seen, but it was enough. Blake swallowed the lump in her throat wincing yet again as pained muscles went to work and carefully moved Weiss's hand from her shoulder. Weiss took a step backwards and to the left subjecting Blake back to Ruby's burning gaze and gave a curt nod urging the source of her conflicting emotions to continue.

"It wasn't until the spring of the following year that things began to go awry. Coincidentally it also happened to be the first time Vic or Paige ever asked us if we wanted to help support the White Fang during a civil rights protest, we were going to crash the Vale Regional Tournament; they never used to let-"

"We know." The other three girls said in unison.

"We had no plans of violence... Though the same couldn't be said for some members of the crowd…"

**11 Years Ago…**

Vic pushed on through the crowd, struggling to create a safe path for his wife and his two adopted kids; in the chaos he'd caught more than his fair share of injuries, nothing minor but enough to remind him of why he was fighting for equality. Paige was a few feet behind him; Blake in her arms, her face pressed into the nape of her mother's neck. Adam was cowering slightly by her right leg. Neither had ever seen humans actually being violent to Faunus as if it was just second nature before and it terrified them.

"Humanity promised us equality. Humanity promised us freedom, respect, opportunity. And yet here I stand alongside the two best fighters in Vale… and neither one of these protectors of your future are allowed to participate in this tournament. Where is the freedom in that? Where is the respect, the opportunity, the equality in that?"

The voice was coming from a megaphone several hundred yards away from where Paige, Vic, Adam and a dozen or so more Faunus pushed through the predominantly human crowd. Blake hadn't even so much as seen the man but already respected the anonymous voice of the silent more than any human she'd ever encountered. Then the retorts came, the racism.

"Shut up you filthy mutt!"

"Why should we believe a hound?"

"Would you allow a gorilla to fight in this tournament?"

Blake cringed at every insult, a stray tear falling down her cheek and soaking into her mother's shirt. "It's okay sweetie, they don't mean any of this; they're just misguided." She heard her mother reassure her softly as tender fingers carefully entwined themselves in Blake's brunette tresses. The young Faunus couldn't find a way to convince herself that her mother was telling the truth. She looked up from the shoulder she had buried herself in since the shoving had started, tear-filled amber eyes meeting hopeful and proud silver.

"If they don't mean it, then why are they ALL saying it?" she asked, she saw Paige's mouth tug downwards, threatening a frown but she managed to turn it into a warm smile.

"There's no such thing as pure evil; EVERYONE in this world is capable of change. One day you'll see Blake; this age will pass so long as we don't let the discrimination break our will; humanity will one day realise they were wrong and accept us for who we are. Right now they're just misguided; they'll find the right path in time."

Blake peered off into the distance just behind Paige's head. In amidst the crowd was a man smiling proudly, it sickened her at first but once she followed his gaze she saw a small blonde girl yelling at aboy about the same age as Blake. Both were human and once the girl's tirade was finished the boy looked down ashamedly before turning to what was likely his father; a father that had paid more attention to insulting the spokesperson of the White Fang than to his own son.

"Dad, why are we oppressing the Faunus?" she heard him ask, the man's head pivoted to the right as he finally glanced at his own son.

"Because they're Faunus, they don't deserve to be trusted. They're all liars, thieves and murderers, you give them once chance son and they'll hurt you."

"But… we're the ones hurting them." The boy looked around, his eyes falling upon Blake; the girl looked away out of fear, returning to the safety of her mother's neck. Her ears remained perked up however. "Does she look like a mean person to you daddy?"

"I-" Blake heard the older male begin. "No..." her head lifted again, gazing intently at the duo, the man had now taken a great interest in the ground, much like the boy had earlier as a result of the blonde girl's scolding. "Of course she isn't… she's no less innocent than you…" Blake smiled at the sight and kept her eyes trained on the duo as the father turned to leave. "Let's go son…"

Her attention was brought back by Adam tapping her heel. She glanced down at her older brother. "You see, everyone here can change. One day sis it won't matter who anyone is, or where they come from… They'll be treated as equals."

**Present Day**

"Wait a minute…" Yang said contemplatively, interrupting Blake's story. "I remember that exchange… That boy was a friend of mine at our school; we were actually there with the academy; it was the first time I ever had the courage to stand up to one of them."

Blake met Yang's gaze, amber and lilac seas clashing as a smile grew on Blake's face before turn into a short laugh. "Trust it to be you…" Before she could continue the story Yang cut in again.

"I remember that night… you don't have to continue with this if you don't want to." She said understandingly with a warm smile.

As expected Weiss cut in, venom in her voice "Yes she does Yang."

At the same time Blake also cut in "Yes I do Yang." Blake sighed as Weiss gave her an expectant look. Blake could hear some muttering between Yang and Ruby but didn't bother prying into their conversation; she just sat there collecting her thoughts, thinking about where to begin. After a fruitless few minutes she finally cleared her throat, regretting doing so immediately thanks to the burning sensation now coursing through it, regardless she soldiered on with the story. "That was the first time I genuinely believed anyone could change… but of course there's a balance in this world that must be kept; with each scrap of hope came chaos and anarchy to rip it away."

"What happened?" asked Weiss curiously.

"A riot broke out…"

**11 Years Ago**

Blake smiled at the sight and kept her eyes trained on the duo as the father turned to leave. "Let's go son…"

Her attention was brought back by Adam tapping her heel. She glanced down at her older brother. "You see, everyone here can change. One day sis it won't matter who anyone is, or where they come from… They'll be treated as equals." It was then that Adam felt a grown man shove him, the boy toppled helplessly into Paige whom struggled to keep her balance with Blake in her arms; she in turn fell into two women that were a part of the crowd.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" they yelled, Paige attempted to apologise only for one of the girl's to slap her hard across the face; she fell to the ground, Blake slamming into the pavement aswell. Adam was already by her side picking her up and Vic began to actually fight his way back to Paige.

"Are you starting something!?" yelled another human from near Vic. Adam's heart began beating a million times a minute as he checked on his mother, she waved him off and struggled to her feet. Adam helped up Blake and checked her over for injuries; she had a few scrapes but nothing she couldn't cope with for the time being.

"Don't touch me! Don't you fucking touch me!"

Paige, Blake and Adam all whipped their heads around to see Vic attempting to get by three males, none of which had any intentions of letting him through. He attempted to push through one last time and was shoved backwards; the next attempt was met with a stiff right hand. Blake winced and Paige cried out for her husband.

Adam was overwhelmed by what followed; his head spun to the left as he watched another Faunus brush past him and begin to play peacemaker with the three humans that had assaulted his father; they took it as a threat and two more stepped in. Then he heard the women next to him that had slapped his mother. "I think this girl was trying to steal something from me!"

"No, you're mistaken!" Paige cried out but was cut off by the sound of a fist crashing into a skull, Vic had been hit again, hard. Adam gulped before turning to Blake and hugged her tight. The girls continued to draw attention to Paige and before long a crowd had surrounded her, Blake and Adam.

The assault on Vic turned into an all-out brawl once Vic started to use self-defence. For every Faunus that attempted to play diplomat, two or three humans believed it to be an act of violence. Within minutes the entire arena fell to anarchy. Screams were heard as shouts and insults pierced the air. Paige face drained of all colour turning a frail and pasty white and she turned to Adam and Blake and yelled at them to run.

Everything became a blur for Blake from that moment on; Adam yanked her by the wrist and pulled her through a small opening as the crowd that had surrounded them fell upon their mother. She winced as she heard her mother's screams of agony; Adam hugged her tighter and pulled her along, expertly avoiding the on-going conflict as humans and Faunus clashed in a disgraceful display of human intolerance.

Adam was knocked away from Blake by a man that had been shoved into him and Blake screamed in fear as the panicked masses began to scramble. She saw a few grown men and women being trampled in the ensuing chaos as those that wanted no part in the bloodshed inadvertently spilled some of their own whilst attempting to escape the area. And just like that she was lost in the crowd.

After minutes of cowering in fear and doing what she could to not get caught by a stampede, Blake felt a hand grip her shoulder and fling her to the ground. She coughed violently as she landed, rolling along several feet, she fortunately stopped three feet away from a group of stampeding humans before she felt that same grip on her tank top. She yelped as she saw a fist mere inches away from her eyes.

It never connected however; the man assaulting her groaned as another human slammed into him and tackled him to the ground. The assaulter struggled to his feet before charging wildly; the man sidestepped, fingers lightly binding around the assaulter's wrist and he pirouetted around him, the man's arm contorted and Blake heard a crack as he was brought to the ground as a result of her saviour kicking the man's leg out from under him.

Within seconds the man had picked her up and used a kusarigama to leap over the crowds of people to the safety of the exit. Several police sirens could now be heard as Blake's vision swam; colours of red and blue filled her blackening sight. "It's gonna be okay." The man soothingly whispered as he brushed past several more humans that had also escaped. A few paramedics pulled up on the scene, officers proceeded to question her saviour and several more entered the chaos. A paramedic was by Blake's side within an instance, a caring young human woman who was entirely professional and incredibly kind; exemplary of what every doctor should have been like.

Out of the corner of her eye she spied Adam; safe and sound, his own eyes scanning the crowd frantically, assumedly for Blake and his parents, as he was restrained by Luke-a monkey Faunus and a family friend. She rushed over; a single police officer and her saviour following her as she slammed her body into Adam's and embraced him tightly. "I'm so glad you're okay." They both whispered.

"Are you family?" asked the police officer to Luke. He sorrowfully shook his head.

"I didn't see them make it out."

Those words brought Blake and Adam's world crashing down. The rest of the exchange became little more than white noise in the background.

"Well it's not safe to stay here; I'm going to have to ask you to vacate the area."

"They can't stay at mine; it's no place for two children."

"You can all spend the night at my place if you want. It's big enough and I don't even need to be there if you don't want me to."

"No it's fine, that's very nice of you. No reason why you should be blamed for this."

"Then it's settled."

Neither Blake nor Adam struggled as they were picked up, Blake by the human and Adam by Luke. The next thing they knew they were in a police car and headed straight for a stranger's apartment where a restless night would await them as fear gripped them with every update concerning the night's chaos.

**Present Day**

Weiss's posture had faltered entirely, Myrtenaster had fell from her limp grasp and rolled idly across the train car floor, stopping several feet away from Blake. She was letting out horrified gasps uncontrollably; she'd never heard or even read about this before, probably being protected from it by her father. "Did anyone make it out?" she asked still in disbelief and shock.

"Sixteen Faunus and twenty five human bodies were discovered, three more are still unaccounted for…" Blake said sorrowfully. "Paige was one of the sixteen…" Weiss grimaced upon hearing the words. She wasn't the only one that had lost a parent as a result of the violence between humans and Faunus. "Vic made it out though; he refused to go to hospital to treat his wounds until he saw us. He thanked the human that saved my life; he was called Kenny, and then let HUMANS treat his injury.

At the time I couldn't believe it; I'd just watch three hundred humans and fifty Faunus tear each other apart in an attempt to escape from an all-out brawl born of a simple misunderstanding… And yet here was Kenny, putting his own life in danger to save mine. Here was Luke who I had learned had helped a human family escape. Here were the emergency services; doing everything they could do protect humans and Faunus alike in a night of bloodshed. The only thing I could do was promise to not let my mother have died in vain… I guess I broke that vow five years ago."

Ruby moved for the first time that day, ignoring the pain that racked her body as she struggled over to Blake; Weiss didn't even attempt to keep them apart as Ruby cuddled into Blake's side. "Don't be stupid Blake; you did no such thing. Even though you are no longer part of the White Fang you're still changing the world, you're still making it a better place. You're even still changing people's outlooks. Do you remember Weiss at the beginning? How Team Cardinal treated Velvet? When you look at Beacon: Do you see animosity or unity?"

Blake wiped her eyes and sniffed. "Unity." she finally choked out.

"You see the world HAS changed for the better. It may not be perfect, and likely never will be; but you've definitely helped make it better." Blake nodded and gave half-hearted agreement earning a sigh from the redhead that hugged her. "Do you remember our first date?" A smile finally graced Blake's face and she nodded again. "That may not ever have happened if not for you, for the White Fang…" Weiss and Yang exchanged confused looks before grinning at one another. The exchange was tainted by the solemnness of the situation however; neither girl could truly be joyful or happy at the moment. "So enough of that broken promises talk, okay?" asked Ruby.

Despite Ruby's attempts at masquerading as her cheerful old self Blake could sense the anguish. The pain hidden behind those usually energetic and joy-filled orbs tugged at Weiss and Yang's heartstrings as they remembered the events that transpired today. Ruby's dream, Blake's promise, Weiss's fury, Yang's attempted peace making… Ruby's attempted murder of Blake's old partner… her adoptive brother. Weiss herself was in tatters emotionally and psychologically concerning her own attack on Blake; she dreaded to even think about what Ruby was going through on the inside.

"Do you want to wait until we get back to Beacon before continuing?" Yang asked, Blake just shook her head.

"No, I promised to tell you everything now… Let's get it over with..."

* * *

**Author's Note: **One more to go (I separated what was planned to be one last massive blow out chapter into two and expanded), it's been a blast so far, I think I'll miss writing this. Enjoy/follow/fave/review and I'll see you next time for Chapter 21 – Scattering Roses. Stay awesome guys.


	21. Chapter 21 (Mid-story Finale)

**Chapter 21 – Scattering Roses**

"As I was saying, Vic made it back, we bid farewell to Luke and Kenny and I promised my mother posthumously that I would not let her dreams end there; that one day I would see the changed world in all its glory. For the next six years Adam and I's bond grew ever stronger. He trained in the Iaido style of combat and quickly set about teaching me himself." A brief smile flashed on Blake's face, the memory sweeter than those that would follow.

"We had a few more run-ins with humans, but nothing came close to the violence of that first protest. Over time differences were being made, but they were insignificant; illusions of power designed to quell the Faunus uprising. Nothing actually changed in the real world…" her eyes shut tight and she took a deep breath, images of the triumvirate flashing through her mind. "Except for our leadership that is; the leader I had bonded with stepped down, and a triumvirate rose to take his place.

My father stayed on as did Adam and I…" Her lips now turned to a frown as she revisited her sins. "We had no idea exactly what was to come when we were told that we may be required to do things we regret…" a sadistically sour laugh escaped her throat, reminding her of the searing pain inflicted by Weiss earlier "or that there was no "may" about it…"

"Stop."

Blake's gaze immediately met Weiss's half-expecting the word to have been spoken by her. Yang pointed to Ruby before striding over to meet the rest of her team, hand gripping Myrtenaster as she did so.

"I don't want to know any of this in detail… Just tell me: Did you kill anybody?"

A silence swept over the train car. Every single person swallowed hard apart from Ruby, her eyes again transfixed to Blake's, her own emotions swept away as she focussed all her energy on reading her girlfriend. Blake slowly, solemnly nodded and Weiss and Yang gulped again. "Two humans…" she added, tears welling in her eyes yet again.

Ruby disguised a smile as she cross-referenced what Blake's and Adam's claims. "Tell me about them."

Blake hesitated for a few moments, taking the short amount of time to prepare herself "Well…" she finally began "The first victim came from our first mission, I had yet to acquire Gambol Shroud and so was given a standard katana, I had no idea why; I mean, we were peaceful, weren't we?" Blake let out a disgusted laugh before continuing. "Turns out that our friendly protest was an attack on Rosenkov InDustries…"

"You've GOT to be kidding me…" Yang exclaimed in disbelief.

"Nope." was all Blake replied nonchalantly. "The idea was that they had no reason to expect it, sure they were powerful and well-defended; after all they were, and still are, one of the leading manufacturers in security mechs. We were told the change of plan on the ship. I don't know why we agreed, perhaps I felt like I owed the White Fang for everything they gave me, perhaps it was how I believed I could keep my unheard promise to Paige, or perhaps I was just a frightened sheep in a pride of lions… But I agreed to it… Looking back maybe a part of Adam WANTED to partake."

"I'm assuming things didn't quite go as planned." interrupted Weiss.

"For the most part everything went smooth enough, the guards were caught off-guard and were neutralised quickly, I don't know if any of them were killed as I didn't fight; Adam said those that he fought he simply knocked unconscious. The problem came when we were securing the crates…" she visibly flinched, clear self-resentment and blame in her amber irises. "One of the security guards went unnoticed, they stabbed Adam through the chest and I was left alone, and panicking, with a guard looking to kill me. I wasn't anywhere near as good as Adam was, or as good as I am today."

Blake's breathing pitched as she reminisced on a memory long buried. "I didn't know HOW to incapacitate him without using lethal force. During the encounter I saw an opening and took it, my only concern was for my brother; my blade sunk into flesh." She swallowed heavily, her voice now reduced to a croak. "I didn't mean to pierce his heart…" Blake took a deep breath, every last ounce of her remaining might battling back the sobs that threatened to overwhelm her.

Ruby hid another smile, hope and relief were washing over her as yet another story matched Adam's. Yang had now sunk to the floor and was succouring Blake too. She had handed Weiss her rapier back and Weiss had fixed it to her thigh. "And the second incident?" asked Ruby, urging her on.

Everyone was beginning to question Ruby internally, she was far too direct, and there was no sign of any of her own previous emotions. She was frighteningly apathetic considering the inner turmoil that was practically emanating off of her beforehand. Blake paid it no mind and continued on.

"Well… following the first mission a lot of people began to have second thoughts, myself and my father included… Adam couldn't really have a voice; he was in the hospital following the assault. Before any action could be taken Luke came to see me by Adam's bedside… Vic was dead…" Blake's lip quivered slightly before she steeled herself, even still she felt both Ruby and Yang's hands find their ways into her raven locks. "He was killed in what was described as a hate crime. That criminal was the first, and to this day, only life I ever took maliciously. It was Gambol Shroud's first kill…"

Weiss felt herself fighting back her own tears, out of the corner of her eyes she saw Ruby fail to hide a smile and from the other Yang's face lacked an expression. As she thought back it dawned on her that Yang had never actually said anything about Blake at all today. At first she was in denial and, ever since that wall was torn down, they had to let it fall by the way side in order to search for Ruby.

Even now she masked whatever she herself was feeling expertly well. She was there for Blake, but at the same time she had her eyes trained on Ruby; and, unlike Ruby, Yang's embrace of Blake seemed strangely lacking in intensity, there was nothing behind it. Glancing back to Ruby she saw that her partner had once again hid that smile that had Weiss curious and the interrogator that she had been for the last ten minutes returned. "And what happened after that?"

"I was an emotional wreck, despite telling myself that he deserved it, despite resenting the man I killed; I loathed myself more-I felt like a monster. I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror without seeing a murderer, someone that was no better than the man I had sentenced to death. I felt sick to my stomach every time I gazed at the family photos of myself, Adam, Paige and Vic during better, more peaceful times. I knew there was no way they would ever have wanted this, not for me, not for Adam, not for the White Fang. But…" she sighed at the memories of her submission, how easily she fell in line. "But my decision was made. I had nowhere else to go and Adam was beginning to accept the new White Fang's way of thinking. I had a reason to stay and nowhere to run. I stayed on, hoping deep down that one day soon, something would change."

"That's not that I asked…" said Ruby, her voice was entirely phlegmatic and to the point. Yang flinched, as did Weiss, neither had seen Ruby like this before. Blake was entirely ignorant of Ruby's behaviour and mood. She had made a promise and she was going to keep it. Ruby deserved to ask the questions, and Blake deserved every bit of how Ruby was treating her.

"I refused to kill, it was something that was taken note of but ignored by the triumvirate, the White Fang saw me as a valuable symbol; a role model." Another disgusted, silent laugh escaped Blake; her tone grew harsher, frustration bubbling. "That sickened me, because I was a role model to young kids-a poster child; but it wasn't because I was near pacifistic to humans and Faunus alike," her voice had now begun raising to a shout as the anger washed over her "it was because I was a goddamn child prodigy to them. A loyal and incredibly skilled soldier raised by the White Fang themselves…" Her voice reduced to a near whisper, however at that instant it was more venomous, repugnant and forlorn then Weiss had ever heard from the girl. "I was a fucking mascot for an organisation I resented…"

Weiss shook her head; the White Fang were becoming more sickening with each new detail she discovered. "Surely someone had to have agreed with you, you said before that a lot of the people from that first mission doubted the new regime didn't you?"

"Of course, I wasn't the only one to try and protect humans, just one of few who could do it publicly. There was another girl, and a single male who led this pacifistic movement. We would do as commanded by the triumvirate, but we always did it clean. When and wherever possible casualties and damages were kept to a minimum, the most I ever did was knock out my enemies." A prideful smile tugged at Blake's lips but she fought it back, reminding herself that it changed nothing. "Mechs were a different story obviously." she off-handedly added upon seeing a raised eyebrow from Weiss.

Blake's gaze fell to the floor again. "Even still I could feel Adam slipping, with each mission he became more aggressive and violent, and he was becoming jaded by our lack of progress. During our last mission he wanted to kill the crew even though our objective was to secure the Dust and get out. The crew wasn't a threat, the White Fang hadn't even bothered labelling them as expendable…" her voice had raised back to a shout, her emotions raging as she recollected every bad memory; every regret or trauma. That same voice softened almost immediately.

"Something about seeing him like that had awakened me from my naïve state of mind; I'd lost Adam and only committed MORE sins whilst trying to save him. When the Spider Droid came I saw an opening and severed the train car, and that was that."

"WAIT!" interrupted Weiss, trying her best to keep her voice low. "You've skipped a few details… This Dust is the self-same shipment that my father's company lost twelve months ago, correct?"

"Yes." was all Blake's responded whilst getting ready for an outburst. It never came and Blake looked into Wiess's eyes. There was no anger, no hate. There was gratitude. For the first time since the morning of that day Weiss strode over to Blake, pulled her to her feet, resulting in Yang and Ruby falling atop each other and embraced the Faunus.

"…Then you were the reason why our transport crew was saved…" she whispered, barely loud enough for Ruby or Yang to hear. "There were fourteen people on that train… fourteen innocent lives that were nearly stolen alongside that damned Dust. Or at least that's what daddy told me." The lack of teasing, sarcasm or snarky comments from Yang or Blake pained Weiss, she wasn't expecting to but she longed for the normality of it all.

Blake hugged Weiss back, savouring every moment of her friend's embrace driven by the realisation that it could very well be the last. Weiss was the first to pull away, her face hard as stone, locked in that usual serious expression. "Were you part of Operation Snowfall?" she blurted out suddenly.

Blake's heart was in her mouth, she could feel her pulse pounding against her skin, fear gripping her as Weiss asked the one question Blake didn't want to answer. Weiss already knew the answer, and Blake knew that, but actually admitting it caused Blake more anxiety, pain and fear than everything she'd said up to this point. "What's Operation Snowfall?" Ruby asked hesitantly, for the first time in ten minutes the cautious, curious, scared Ruby of old was back.

"Operation Snowfall was the White Fang's first and, to my knowledge, only attempt at bringing down the Schnee Dust Company." Cut in Blake. "They couldn't actually target President Schnee himself, he was far too connected to the heads of power controlling Vale. Instead they targeted the one person that would shatter him psychologically, getting him to destroy the company himself:" she swallowed hard, Yang and Ruby jumped to the right conclusion and Weiss winced. "Weiss Schnee."

"So that's a yes?" Weiss asked matter-of-factly.

Blake grimaced, turning away from Weiss instinctively before forcing herself to meet the heiress's cold and knowing gaze. "Yes." She admitted before quickly adding "but I didn't even know the name of our target, I was kept in the dark because they didn't know what I'd do! I NEVER even laid eyes upon-"

Weiss's hand found its way back to Blake's shoulder, it wasn't out of pity or reassurance, the look in her eyes wasn't one of forgiveness or recognition. It was understanding, Weiss knew of Blake's involvement, and understood why, that was all there was to it. She didn't forgive her, didn't forget, but at the same time didn't despise her and didn't judge. "Relax Blake, I believe you…"

Blake breathed a sigh of relief, the knots in her stomach disappearing for a single moment that the four girls revelled for the short time that it lasted. Then the brakes sounded and the train car came to a stop. And with the end of the train line came the need to ask one last question. Blake gulped knowing she'd be the one to have to ask it. "So… where do we go from here?"

The silence reappeared, clinging to existence. Despite everything that had happened today, no one actually knew the answer to that one single question. Ruby gave Blake a small, sweet and innocent smile but Yang jumped in before her sister could say anything. "I think it would be best if we all just took some time for ourselves… Every last one of us has at least something we need to figure out, and no matter how hard we try settling this together, this just isn't something we can overcome as a team, it's up to each of us as individuals to decide-"

"But I've already-"

"ESPECIALLY you Ruby…" groaned Yang venomously cutting off her younger sister, Ruby winced and her smile faded but she didn't challenge her elder, she sank back down to the floor defeated. "This is something each of us needs to figure out on our own."

Blake cast a glance towards Ruby and was stung by the girl's submissive posture; she really was willing to forgive her simply for the sake of their relationship. "Yang's right Ruby, you all need to come to terms with this on your own. I'll ask Velvet if she has a spare bed in her dorm, Weiss will no doubt want to go and see her father." She turned to face the heiress who curtly nodded. "And that leaves you and Yang to figure out who gets our dorm and who gets Team Juniper's, I'm sure they'll want to do all they can to help."

"Ruby gets Juniper's." Yang said with an air of finality, Blake smiled as did Weiss; neither wanted to admit but the thought of Ruby on her own whilst processing this scared the hell out of both of them. The thought of Yang being on her own also scared Weiss half to death but Yang's decisions were almost always non-negotiable. She tried taking solace in the fact that Yang was by far the toughest out of all of them, it wasn't enough, but it was something.

"Then… I guess we're done for now." said Weiss as she forced the sliding door of the train car open before turning back to her teammates. "You guys go back to the dorm; Yang make sure both Ruby AND Blake are okay before you let either of them leave, I don't want to come back to find that today's injuries have made my decision for me…" Weiss cringed at the dark "joke".

"Of course." replied Yang earning a warm smile in response from Weiss whom turned to Blake. The look on her face offered Blake an apology but Blake just shook her head and smiled in return, letting her know that it wasn't needed.

"Then I guess this is goodbye… for now…" Weiss exclaimed before hopping from the train and disappearing into the night.

* * *

It was midnight by the time Team RWBY sans Weiss were finally ready to part ways. Yang, true to her word, checked and double checked every wound received by both her partner and her sister before letting them leave. She demanded Blake get a check up on her ribs and lungs the next morning before kissing Ruby goodbye.

As the door closed Yang's personal barriers collapsed, she fell to the ground and let everything out; she promised to be strong for Ruby, and that promise was extended to Weiss and Blake when they became her teammates. That promise was never once extended to herself. On her own she didn't need to be anything more than truthful. And in this case the truth was more psychologically painful and emotionally jarring than she'd ever felt before.

"So even the almighty Miss Xiao Long cries?"

Yang raised her head, hands manically wiping away the tears that clouded her vision, soaked her face and made her eyes string. She recognised that voice; it could only belong to one person. "What are you doing here Weiss?"

Weiss stepped out of the shadows, a frown on her face as she gave Yang a caring onceover. "Let's just say I made a promise to Ruby a long time ago… and extended that promise to you. I'm gonna be the best teammate you'll ever have." Weiss said as she stepped into the moon's rays, her hand swatting at the lamp and turning it on; illuminating the broken blonde girl in a matching yellow light. "And tonight you need someone to be there for you." She reached a hand out to the blonde, an affectionate smile attempting to soothe the girl's emotions. "As much as you want to do this alone; you can't. At least not right away. So tonight, before I return home, I figured I'd play the role of Yang Xiao Long."

Yang sniffed, dashing away the last of her tears before taking Weiss's hand in her own and, with the help of the more petite girl, shifted up onto her knees bringing herself almost to shoulder height of the tiny porcelain frame that was her sister's partner. Weiss took a few steps forward and crushed Yang in a tight hug; if today was any indication then warm, caring embraces seemed to be going out of fashion. "Thanks Weiss." Yang whispered whilst nuzzling into the nape of the heiress's neck.

"I don't need your thanks Yang; I need to know what is going on inside that head of yours…" Weiss pulled away giving Yang a peck on the forehead, her hands resting on the cheeks of her friend. "Now talk."

* * *

Neither Blake nor Ruby knew what to do. It was now midnight and the duo were left standing outside in the cold, dark hallway that bridged the gap between Team RWBY's dorm room and Team JNPR's dorm room. During the short trip from the train station back to the academy it had reached almost freezing temperature.

Blake, entirely unsure about how to proceed with the current situation just stood in silence leaning against Team RWBY's wall; she could've sworn she could hear a faint whimper from behind it but brushed it off. _Yang wants to be alone; if she wasn't going to be okay then she wouldn't have made us leave. _Blake's mind came full circle as she remembered exactly why they were waiting in the hall; Team JNPR was currently busy running various errands and Blake promised Yang that she'd wait with Ruby. She also didn't question why Ruby couldn't have waited in their dorm room with Yang, but upon hearing the sounds seeping through the thick walls she could now make an educated guess.

Her gaze met Ruby's, amber and silver eyes just staring into the entrancing chasms of one another. Ruby had lost herself and her breathing hitched; her cold breaths visible in the air. Blake found herself mesmerised by Ruby's every feature, committing each flawless detail to memory one last time before her thoughts wandered to the near freezing breeze that swept the corridor, she could barely even feel the sharp bite. It was so tranquil, so peaceful; completely ignorant of the chaos, pain and suffering that had befallen Team RWBY in just 24 hours, 24 incredibly short but seemingly unending hours.

Then Ruby moved and it made Blake jump. The redhead began striding forward, failing to stop as she neared Blake; the cat Faunus was in shock for reasons that confounded her. She felt Ruby's arm encircle her body, trapping the lithe frame of the girl she loved against her own. Blake gave a pained gulped before bringing her own, still trapped arms, around to the small of Ruby's back in an awkward attempt to reciprocate.

It took several minutes before the youthful teen finally pulled away, releasing her paramour. The redhead's cold and callous hands worked their way down Blake's bared arms sending a shiver down the older girl's spine that she longed to never leave her if it meant Ruby would stay too. Her girlfriend's fingers traced their way across the underside of her forearms, brushing softly over the open palms of her hand. They came to rest for a moment entwined with Blake's own, the sensation fleeting and leaving Blake desiring more when she pulled her hands away.

"Ruby… please don't-" Blake began to plead when it seemed apparent that Ruby was actually teasing her at a time like this but was cut off by Ruby's hands gripping the girl's shoulders and pulling her forward into a heated kiss. Blake melted against her best friend's body and started savouring the taste of her lips, the smell of strawberries in her hair.

For several minutes they remained like that, free from the day of madness and unobservable destruction; several minutes that felt like both an eternity and a single breath to Blake before her rational mind kicked in and she pulled away ever so slightly, breaking the kiss without breaking touch with Ruby's body. "This isn't what you want-" she began, her heart breaking on the inside.

"No Blake!" Ruby shouted, her voice raising and likely being heard by her sister. "You and Yang can't possibly know what I want…" she pulled further away from Blake, her girlfriend's hands freeing the redhead's body and instead opting to rest on her shoulders.

Ruby's eyes closed and she let out a sigh before opening them. "Look, I know that you're just trying to do what's best for me, both of you are. But at the end of the day only I know what is going on with me. Only I decide what happens to me." Blake opened her mouth to retort but was cut off by another short kiss. "ME. NOT YOU." Ruby said defiantly when she pulled away and Blake couldn't suppress a smile. "What is it?" Ruby asked curious.

"Exact what I'd hoped to hear after this week of hell is over…" she admitted hesitantly before giving her girlfriend a peck on her cheek. She pulled away, her hands raising to the sides of Ruby's neck where they joined once more, the strange warmth of Blake's touch chasing away the cold that assaulted Ruby's body. Ruby's own hands traced Blake's sides before being tactfully placed on her exposed hip. Blake tensed, enjoying the cold sensation before letting out a sigh. Ruby's eye brows furrowed questioningly. "And it still is." she finally said.

She could see the fire in Ruby's eyes; the girl was defiant to the end. Ruby would never surrender, never lose hope and certainly wouldn't leave without being pried away. And so Blake did just that. She hated herself for it, knew Ruby would likely punish her for it, if only a little but it needed to be done.

Her fingers disentangled, arms falling to her sides where they pulled away Ruby's own. Ruby's body stiffened as her frustration grew but she pushed it away, refusing to get mad at the one she loved. "We all agreed to spend the next week away from one another to clear our heads and to come to terms with what we, or those around us, have done." Blake crouched down and brought her hands up to rest on Ruby's upper arms, flinching at feeling her muscles contract.

"Just promise me, for me, or for Yang, if not for you, that you will think about everything, about Weiss, about Yang… about us." Ruby's posture softened and relaxed, another sigh escaping her lips. "Whether or not you're ready to make a decision, I personally need this week; I need to know that this is what you want; and you said it yourself: I can't know that right now, but I can at least believe it by next week." Once more amber and silver met and Ruby gave a small smile that Blake reciprocated. "Please just… promise me, promise us, that you'll take this week to clear your mind too."

Ruby's gaze fell to the ground and she groaned immaturely. Blake chuckled as the petulant, irresponsible Ruby of old appeared for what could be a single final memory to be gained. "Fine!" Ruby whined as Blake got to her feet and embraced the redhead once more.

"Thank you." Blake said gratefully before giving Ruby another peck on the cheek. As she went to pull away she felt Ruby trap her once more, squeezing her in a tight embrace. When she was released she just looked at Ruby with a single eye brow raised.

"You didn't say I couldn't still love you until I decided I didn't…" One sentence, that was all it took to make Blake shiver. The very prospect of Ruby leaving her suddenly returning, she had forced Ruby to take the week to re-evaluate but now feared the results. She hadn't expected Ruby herself to say it was a possibility…

She put on her best façade. "Stubborn as a mule." She quipped, groaning internally at the cliché. Ruby let out a soft giggle that both confounded Blake and warmed her heart. This was a far cry from the Ruby that was on the train. She didn't admit it then but she feared that Ruby, feared for that Ruby. And yet at the end of the day both that Ruby and the Ruby she was speaking with were one and the same. _Thank God she'll be with friends…_

Blake's thoughts were interrupted by the group in question bounding up the start. They greeted Ruby and asked Blake what was going on but both were as vague as possible without arousing suspicion. Ruby made no attempt to engage with Jaune or Nora and Blake's only spoken words that weren't an ambiguous answer were her checking on Pyrrha after spying the bandage that peeked over her corset. The first chance she got Blake excused herself and departed with a final kiss from Ruby, heading to Velvet's dorm room.

When Ruby was certain Blake was out of ear shot she let herself fall to the floor, a depressive, heart-breaking mewl escaping. Pyrrha was by her side in an instant. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah it's just…" Ruby began whilst gazing off in the direction Blake had disappeared. She didn't want this week. She wanted her family. She wanted Yang, Blake and Weiss; neigh she NEEDED them. "It's nothing…" The anguish, remorse and terror in Ruby's voice belied the certainty, her own emotions betraying her.

Pyrrha hesitated and eyed Ruby suspiciously before letting it slide. "Then come on, I'm sure we could all do with some rest." The younger redhead nodded and Pyrrha turned to open the door, exchanging glances with the rest of her team. A tense silence followed as JNPR's dorm room door creaked open and then there was nothing, until…

"BAGSY NOT SLEEPING ON THE FLOOR!" shouted Nora as Team Juniper and Ruby entered, the door shutting behind them. "OW! You know that technically counts as a domestic incident now Ren!"

* * *

**Author's Note: **And that's all she (he) wrote until the end of June. I figured now would be the perfect time to go on that hiatus, clear my head, get a few months to refresh and most importantly: relax (Yeah, like that's going to happen…) So yeah Team RWBY are back home… or at least back from the brink of hell, only one is actually back home. Team JNPR are being de-briefed on their findings in the White Fang lab, and Cinder, Roman and the White Fang are making preparations. Will Team RWBY's bonds survive the strain? What will happen if The White Fang succeed in creating the ultimate Chimera? Can Beacon save Vale? And will Ladybug ever have a third date? All this and more when I return to write the second half of this story!

Until then feel free to check out Mirror, Mirror which will continue, even if updates are infrequent. I at least aim to have the Volume 1 re-telling done by the time Volume 2 Episode 1 is released. I'd definitely recommend Ruin – Book One of the Rending Trilogy and A Red Stained Remnant to the masochists out there that are reading this. Standard recommendations for With Fire Comes Shadow and "I'm Not Perfect" also apply. TearOfLight's fanfictions are all well worth a look, especially Tell Me Something. Lastly everyone should go and check out Team WRBY by knives4cash, especially if you're enjoying Mirror, Mirror; you can probably guess what his AU (Well AR I guess) involves…

As always if you enjoyed this chapter enough fave/follow and all reviews are read and appreciated, I may also respond to them if there are any questions, speculation or suggestions. And I will see you in the summer with Chapter 22 – Celica.


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